


Temporary Soul

by Little_Aliens



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2018-10-27 03:33:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 27,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10800819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Aliens/pseuds/Little_Aliens
Summary: After being in Eichen House for more than a year Peter makes a deal, that he can leave as long as he moves away from Beacon Hills and never returns. He finds a small town and a house surrounded by forest to settle into, although the isolated cabin is not without quirky neighbors. Without a pack or any family Peter starts to get lonely and questions his need to get away until someone catches his attention. She makes him forget about what he left behind and focus on the days to come. But there's something wrong and she's afraid it might spoil everything they have.





	1. Chapter 1

Small yellow flowers had started to bloom along the sides of his dirt driveway by the time Peter was finished with all his fixings and renovations. For one month he'd ventured only so far as the river next to his place, which was a few minutes walk away, before thinking about all the things that still needed patching up and returning. Cool air met him as his shoes sank into the dewy earth, the rising sun just barely hit him through all the budding leaves while he walked deeper into the foliage. Where it did land, the yellow light was warm against his skin, contrasting the chilly morning air and making Peter sigh in relief.  The smell of the damp ground and new flowers reminded him of home, and he couldn't help how his mind traveled back to the tall tree's of Beacon Hills. He had to stop himself short, this was his home now, he should be thinking about the soothing sound of the river that always calmed his nerves. Not the one he'd been forced to leave. 

He'd chosen this new life. To be secluded and enveloped in the world around him without the need for power or control. He had an acre all to himself, made complete with quick access to a river and a mile hike to the lake which Peter had taken to swimming in near the late hours of midnight. While the moon reflected it's white face on the rippling surface as if it was a giant mirror for the stars, he'd think about what the next day might have in store for him. It was calming, to float in the cold water and imagine how different his days would be from those he'd had in the past. 

There was no rival pack for him to fight against here. A couple times he'd caught scent of another wolf passing through, stopping briefly for gas before leaving the small town behind. As if it never even existed at all. Else his nose was filled the fresh pine, flowers, and the wildlife that sprinted by him when startled. He could smell the faint perfume of his neighbors when he'd drive into town or when they went on a walk in the morning through the trees. His house was five miles from main street and the center of the town, but he had wanted the isolation. 

Birds chirped around him as he walked, their soft chatter did nothing but remind him of how peaceful it was and how lonely. Yet, he'd done it to himself. Josephine, his most talkative neighbor, had told him over and over again about the farmers market that happened every Saturday morning until twelve. The woman would often go out of her way to greet him in the evening when she went on a stroll with her grandson. The kid always did his best to pull his grandmother away but she was persistent in her nosiness. Peter told himself that as soon as he'd gotten his place together he'd go into town and get to know everyone, but at the same time he wasn't quite ready to throw the past away. Believing that he'd be replacing it with this life he hadn't accepted yet. 

Now that he was settled, and somewhat annoyed at Josephine for bothering him the night before, he figured the farmers market was a good place to start. Plus he needed some fresh produce, and it wouldn't hurt to get to know the vendors if he ever wanted to get a discount.  

A old brown pick up had helped Peter move and transport supplies to and from his cabin, the man figured a brand new vehicle would bring too many questions about his past. An older, smaller truck kept the rumors down, and made the trek into the forest easily where another car might struggle. The road to his cabin was dirt and gravel, worn down over the years of use, but still partly covered by some low branches and larger rocks, it made the man wonder if people ever got stuck on the path. Into town the street was paved and cracked, with tar holding some of the road together so cars wouldn't fly past the only stoplight in town. 

The sight of people made Peter sigh, he'd gotten used to only seeing Josephine and her grandson in the forest, and the few people he met in town when he was getting supplies. The seven vendors on either side of the street attracted a crowd of people around at least a hundred and made the wolf less than excited to peruse. Saturday morning Main Street was closed for the market and the parking spaces were taken by the stalls selling goods, so Peter had to park a little ways away and walk. 

"Homemade Jam, free samples," a voice called out to him almost immediately. A woman wearing a green bandana wrapped around her head smiled at him from behind her table of red and purple jars. "I have a lavender raspberry one if you'd like to try," she offered holding up a tray. There was about ten crackers smeared with the red substance. 

"No thank you," Peter said before walking away. He was looking for Josephine, so the woman would leave him alone for a while, and cheap produce or meat.  

"Maybe next time," she shrugged before moving on to the next person. 

During the day Main Street was much quieter, still bustling with soft chatter, but with about ninety percent less people on the sidewalk and in the street. 

"I knew you'd come down eventually," he recognized the older woman's voice immediately.  

"Well," he flashed a quick smile. "I figured it'd be the only way to keep you from coming to my house again." 

It sounded mean, but Peter had discovered early on that Josephine didn't know how to take a hint and thought that every insult or snap at her was sarcasm at work. Which meant that she was almost impossible to get rid of when she came to bother him. 

"Maybe for a couple nights," she chuckled. Her usually free salt and pepper hair hanging in a long braid that was draped over her shoulder. "Oh come here," she said noticing his hesitant step backwards. "I'll introduce you to the other forest dwellers." 

"I just came to pick up a few things," he tried to walk away but she grabbed his arm. 

"It'll only take a couple minutes," she insisted. 

In the end it took about twenty minutes for Josephine to introduce him to people, because it turned out she knew just about every single vendor and they all wanted to say hello. The only good thing about this was that they were all ready to give him a little discount because he was with the older woman. He received free things as well, such as rhubarb, strawberries, radishes, pea's, and some asparagus.  Peter was also informed that should he ever need some herby soap he could buy one and get one free as long as it was less expensive than the other one. 

At last they came to the final vendor who greeted Josephine with a friendly wave. His tanned olive skin crinkled around his lips and eyes as he waved at them. A grey worn baseball cap covered what looked to be black hair, as his striking hazel eyes fixed upon Peter with a curious expression. The man had a few baskets on his table that were filled with different loaves of bread that invaded Peter's nose with pleasant and fresh smells of rosemary and garlic. 

"Noura's not here today?" Josephine questioned making the man shrug. 

"She's watching some kids at the lake," he explained making the woman nod. "Is this our new neighbor?" He turned their attention to Peter, who was trying to figure out which loaf of bread was the one that smelled like mint and dill. 

"Peter," the wolf offered his hand out to the man. "Moved into the old Willow cabin," Peter explained. 

"Lyle," the baker shook his hand briefly. The grip was rough and Peter could tell just from the feeling of his palm he was a man who liked to use his hands. "My niece and I live a few miles west of you, on the other side of the river," he said with a kind smile. 

 If there was one thing Peter wasn't used to it was the friendliness that everyone had towards him. He was conditioned to hearing people's hearts jump and hammer with lies, or stare at him with suspicious worry and disdain. Sure, he'd gotten some curious stares here, but most people were just wondering who the new guy was. The warmth of their kindness was something he hadn't expected, he'd never missed such a feeling in Beacon Hills, but it wasn't unwanted either. 

"I wasn't looking to buy bread, but something you made smells amazing," Peter finally confessed. Initially he'd wanted to leave, take what he'd already gotten and escape back to his cabin for a week by himself. But Lyle's bread stopped him short as he wondered how it might taste in the morning with some butter and eggs. 

"My niece and I make them together, she's quite the baker," the man laughed. 

"She moved here a few years ago and now none of us can eat store bought bread anymore," Josephine tsked as if she was annoyed. "Noura spoils us." 

"She does," Lyle agreed. 

"Which one would you recommend?" Peter asked, still slightly eager to get back to his house.  

"We've already sold out of the parmesan loaf, it seems to be the favorite amongst visitors. But I think the best one is either the Greek loaf, with dill, mint, oregano, and marjoram, or the sweet rolls with lavender and lemon zest." He explained, motioning to each bread as he described them. As soon as Peter heard that the Greek one was what smelled like mint he decided upon it, but the rolls sounded good as well. 

"Well you've sold me, can I have one Greek loaf and three rolls?" He questioned. 

"Of course," Lyle grinned at him before moving to wrap them up. 

"My grandson's here, finally, I'll see you boys later," Josephine said moving off quickly. Peter sighed softly in relief to be free from her grasp. 

"She can be a little overwhelming at times," Lyle laughed at him. "Always excited when people move here so she can have someone else to talk to." 

"I've noticed," Peter frowned wondering how involved she was hoping to become with him. 

"She's just lonely, her husband passed away about four years ago, Kegan keeps her busy most of the time, but she get's bored," he chuckled. Kegan was the name of her nineteen year old grandson who had dropped out of college and was taking a couple years off from school. "Here you go," Lyle handed him a couple bags of his wrapped bread and Peter paid him before turning to leave. 

"Thanks," he muttered. "It was nice to meet you." 

"Likewise," the baker waved. "We'll see each other around." He listened again for the difference between the man's heart beat and his expression, but found none and returned the smile in earnest.  

That night Peter tried the bread and was pleasantly surprised at how nicely it paired with lemon pepper tilapia and asparagus. For dessert he tried one of the sweet rolls and loved the way the lemon didn't overpower him, but was just enough to leave a hint of sour sweetness afterwards. Perhaps he would continue to go to the farmers market, at least to get more bread from Lyle anyway. 

In the early morning Peter went on a run through the tree's, just before the sun rose was when he spent time in his shifted form. Enjoying the speed at which he could move through the forest, and the smells of everything waking up around him in the light. The runs always ended at the lake, where he would find himself damp with sweat and breathing hard from the rush of excitement that followed such freedom.  

Stripping off his shirt and shorts Peter waded into the cold water and sighed at the coolness of it against his blazing skin and sweaty body. His boxers clung to his skin for a moment before he dove in and reveled at the feeling. Compared to Beacon Hills his life here was slow and quiet, no one was trying to kill him or lock him away. He was free to run, to howl at night, and the need for power had faded off into nothing. And it made him feel empty, because there was no longer anything to work towards, to strive for or thirst after. When his cabin needed work he accepted it gratefully, happy to have something to think about, but now that it was finished there was nothing. 

So caught up in his thoughts Peter didn't question the faint smell of lavender that found him at the dock in the middle of the lake. It was where the kids always swam to, and raced each other towards. He'd seen them jumping off of it into the water before, laughing and splashing each other before going to shore. 

On the way back to his cabin Peter walked alongside the river, knowing that when he made it to the old bridge it was time to turn east towards home. He hadn't crossed it yet, as he'd been told that his property ended at the river because someone else lived on the other side. Lyle lived on the other side with his niece, as he'd found out the day before. 

A faint scent of lavender caught his attention just before Peter turned to disappear into the forest. Walking the opposite direction of him was a woman wearing a grey tank top and blue jean short shorts that showed off her pale legs. The flowery smell intensified as he got to the bridge and faltered in her lazy gait, her gaze focusing on him as they stared at each other. 

From where he was Peter couldn't tell what color her eyes were, but guessed that she could be no older than thirty. Her rusty red hair waved faintly in the morning breeze, billowing down to her lower back gently and standing out against the bright green of the forest in spring. He caught what looked like a smile from her and a small nod in his direction before continuing on her way towards the lake. 

For a moment Peter wanted to follow her, to call out and ask her name. But the rushing of water in his ears would drown out anything he wanted to say, and he wasn't sure if he had much to offer. It was his turn to be curious about someone, yet at the same time he didn't care if they ever met again. 

~~~

By Thursday Peter was out of bread and rolls and wishing he'd bought more than just one loaf, perhaps on Saturday he'd do well to buy a couple different ones and get some more produce. Surprisingly, Josephine left him alone all week long, only coming up to greet him once on one of her morning walks. In the first month of her persistent visits he'd grown used to them, and without her knocking on his door at least once a day it felt somewhat lonely and quiet. Even the usually lingering smell of her perfume had more or less disappeared from his front porch. 

On Saturday morning Peter woke early for another run, finishing around eight thirty before deciding to go to the Farmers Market early this time. Remembering what Lyle had said about the parmesan loaves and how they were always the first to go because they were a favorite. For a moment, while he got into his truck, Peter mused about his small bit of excitement that came with spending the next few weeks finding his favorite flavor of bread. It also made him a little sad that this was what he was excited about nowadays, but he shrugged it off. 

There was still a bit of parking on the street this time, seeing as he was earlier than the week before, and a couple of the stalls were just finishing set up as he began to wander about. The Jam lady didn't notice him walk by which he was thankful for, she'd probably shout at him to try her product again. 

Lyle's table was set up under a shared canopy, just like the week before, but there was someone standing next to him that he hadn't been expecting. The red haired girl from the bridge was talking excitedly with Josephine, Peter only made her out by her familiar smell as her back was facing him. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying to each other, but as they were speaking the woman was wrapping up a few loaves of bread at the same time. 

Appearing behind the table was Lyle with another basket of bread, the man said something to Josephine as well before catching Peter's gaze and smiling in his direction. The older woman followed Lyle's gaze and grinned broadly upon seeing him walking towards them. 

"I knew you'd come back," Josephine cheered patting Peter on the back as he stopped next to her. "I told you the bread was addicting." 

"It was," Peter sighed thinking about his dismay at finishing the last piece. 

"Well thank you, it's always nice to hear people like them," the red haired woman nodded towards him. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, but there were still wisps of it that had escaped to frame her face.  "I don't think we've met yet, I'm Noura," she offered her hand to him.  

"Peter," he introduced himself in the same way almost every time. Her small hand almost completely disappeared in his grip, her fingertips just rough enough to show that she worked with her hands as well. "I met your uncle last week." 

"Sorry I didn't say hi to you the other morning," she caught the attention of Josephine. "I didn't think you'd be able to hear me over the river." 

"Don't worry about it," he muttered glancing at the different loaves. 

"What made you want to move out here?" Noura questioned, making Peter look at her suddenly.  

Her eyes were such a dark shade of grey they looked black in the shade, and gave her a mysterious sort of air. He hadn't noticed it at first but her face was dotted with faint freckles that seemed to collect under her eyes and spread over her nose to the other side. For a moment Peter could see how people would mistake her for being younger with such a childish face and expressions, but it gave him a mature feeling as well. As if her face had been honed over the years and hardened to seem older. 

"Just needed to get away, start over," he explained carefully. Her face lit up at his words, as if he'd given her something sweet. 

"Same for me, had to get out of the city," she said before nodding towards someone behind Peter. "Look who woke up early," she chuckled. "Good morning Kegan." 

"Jo made me drive her here, said it would do me some good to get out of the house," the kid groaned looking around at everyone blandly. "Why are there so many people here so early?" 

"Because it's the weekend," Lyle laughed at the kid's expression of loathing. "Noura made some cookies if you'd like one," the man offered holding out a plate.  

"He doesn't like people very much," Josephine whispered to Peter as if it was a secret. 

"Orange and rosemary," Noura said in a soft voice. "I know you'll like it." The kid eyed her curiously before caving and taking a cookie off the plate and walking away. With the way his heart started to beat a little faster Peter could tell Kegan had a bit of a crush on her. 

"Thanks," he muttered stalking off with Josephine following behind. Her chattering voice faded off into the crowd in a few moments, leaving Lyle and Noura to laugh faintly at his behavior. It took Peter a second to see that the man had moved the plate of cookies towards where he was standing. 

"If people like them, we'll make a small batch to sell next weekend," Lyle explained while Noura continued arranging the loaves. 

"They smell tempting," Peter said grabbing one carefully and taking a small bite. Orange was the first thing he could taste, the citrus danced along his tongue before he caught hints of rosemary bursting through. It was a refreshing taste that Peter couldn't quite place as something he recognized. "Definitely make more," he popped the rest of it into his mouth. 

"Will do," Lyle nodded triumphantly. "So what were you thinking of trying today?" 

"Well I wanted to get a parmesan loaf before they disappeared, and one other one, but I'm not sure," he said looking over the other flavors. 

"Good morning Samuel," Noura's kind voice almost cut through his conversation. She looked a lot younger than he'd originally thought when they'd crossed paths on the bridge. After a moment he drowned out the conversation in favor of his own with Lyle, but still watched her from the corner of his eye. 

"Surprise me," Peter said. Seeing that there were five other flavors and he couldn't quite decide. Though the wolf was sure they were all quite good, he didn't want to try them all at once and spoil the fun. Lyle offered him a mischievous expression before choosing a wheat loaf with basil, chives, and fennel and wrapping it up in some parchment paper. 

"Anything else?" The baker questioned ready to hand the bag over. 

"Do you have any of those lavender rolls left?" Peter grinned when the man nodded. "Can I have a few of those as well?" 

"Of course," he added them to the bag and exchanged them for the cash that Peter handed over. Lyle thanked him before glancing over at Noura to make sure everything was okay with her transaction. She was smiling fondly at the older man she was wrapping bread for as he raved about something. 

"See you later," Peter waved at them while turning to leave. 

"Have a good day," Noura shouted after him. 

The parmesan loaf was really good, though Peter still thought that the one from the week before had a better taste to it. He ended up pairing the other bread with some deli meat and made a tasty sandwich that had him going back for seconds. By the second lavender roll Peter found that it went well with coffee and cream in the morning as he was calming down after a run and thinking about the rest of the day. 

In the next five weeks Peter saw Noura mostly on the weekends at the Farmers Market, but every once in a while they'd cross paths going to the lake or coming back from it. She'd smile and nod towards him, or wave shortly if they were too far away from each other to see facial features. Wherever she went, or had been there was always the smell of flowers, sometimes it was lavender or honeysuckle, but most often it was lilac. Making him want to follow her trail if only to walk in the aroma until it disappeared, because it was fresh and calming. Yet as soon as he walked through it and the scent disappeared he lost the urge and continued walking on his way. 

Josephine resumed her daily trips to his house, dragging Kegan along with her more often than not. Her excuse was that he needed to have at least two friends in town if he ever hoped to get anymore. Lately she'd been bringing flowers with her and leaving them on his kitchen table in a vase she'd brought herself. At first he'd protested, but the floral touch to his house added some much needed color, and reminded him of Noura sometimes. 

One Saturday saw a thunderstorm waking him up in the morning, one of the claps struck so close he could feel within himself before the rain pelting his roof drowned it out. The sky leaked all morning, during the time when the Farmers Market would have taken place, and had Peter on his couch with a book and a warm drink. 

The noise was calming and repetitive, perfect for reading and losing himself in the story that he hadn't cared about when he'd bought the thing. In Beacon Hills he hadn't had much time for reading, or any sort of leisure really, it wasn't his life that was happening when he was flipping the pages. So why should he care? Yet as the story unfolded he found himself lost in the rain and the words, waiting for the next stroke of thunder to shake him again. 

If he wasn't a werewolf Peter wouldn't have been able to hear someone knocking on the door, or the steady heartbeat that accompanied it. Surely Josephine wouldn't be out in such weather to bother him, he could so the older woman slipping and sliding in the mud as she made the trek up to his house, it was a funny thought. 

"Hi Peter," Noura smiled at him as he opened the door. 

She was holding a basket that was covered with a garbage bag, or some type of tarp, that appeared to be mostly dry unlike the clothes she was wearing. An olive green tank top was soaked and clinging to her skin, as were the black short shorts. Her white tennis shoes were probably little swamps with all the puddles she had been walking through to get to his place. 

"Noura," he greeted with a nod, still baffled by her appearance. "Why are you out in the rain?" 

"Storm rained out the Market so uncle Lyle and I have a lot of bread at our place. Also the roof is leaking, he took the car into town to get supplies to patch it up," she explained shivering slightly on his dry doorstep. "I figured I'd go out and get rid of some of the bread, did you still want some?" 

He'd worked his way through their entire selection of bread by now and knew which ones he liked best, he'd even mentioned it to Lyle which ones were his favorite. Noura was sure to know as well. Though it still didn't explain why she was soaking wet, and why she'd felt the need to walk to his house instead of waitint for Lyle to return with the car. 

"Yeah, but-," he faltered as she began unraveling the tarp. "Don't you have an umbrella or something? Do you need one?" 

"No," she chuckled softly. "I like the rain, I was going to go on a walk in it anyway. It does sound strange, I know," her voice shook slightly as she trembled. "But I love the way the sound envelops me, it's so loud I can't even hear my thoughts," she sighed. "Which means I can just be in that moment." 

"Sounds nice," he muttered. Peter could do with an hour or two like that. Alone in the forest, without his worried mind or even the distraction of his past, only the rain to keep him company. 

"It is," she smiled finally getting through the wrapping on the bread. "Two loaves right?" 

"Yeah." 

She pulled out a pre-wrapped bag for him and pushed it into his hands, their fingertips brushed for a moment and he could feel how cold she was. The coolness seemed to radiate off her into his warm house, but she didn't seem to mind. 

"There's some sweet tea rolls in there, we're trying a new recipe," she explained while wrapping the basket back up. 

"Let me get some cash for you," he turned to go back into his house but her voice stopped him. 

"Just pay me back next weekend, that's what everyone else always does," she said. 

"Alright," he said watching her walk back towards his front steps. 

"Tell me what you think of the new rolls too, uncle Lyle says they're too sweet," she yelled as her voice was slowly drowned out by the rain. 

 Peter watched her walk down the road towards Josephine's house until she disappeared into the trees. Just outside his door it was loud enough to drown out all other noise save for the rain, and made the man feel like he was even more trapped in his own world. For now, all he wanted to do was go back to the book he was reading, and perhaps try one of the new rolls. 

~~~ 

After almost three months in his new house and town Peter brought home his first woman for a night of pleasure. Just because he was in a different place and supposedly out of the habit of his old life didn't mean he had to throw it away completely, Certainly it would occupy his time during the night. His place was isolated enough that no one would even care if they stayed up all night, or caused a ruckus while they were enjoying themselves. Perhaps that was one of the good points about living in the forest. 

There was another, bigger, town about ten miles down the highway with a larger lake, more places to stay, and plenty of bars to linger at. With Summer on the horizon it was beginning to fill with families and other tourists looking for a few nights break from their road trips and whatnot. Which meant that Peter rarely slept with the same person twice, and he liked it that way because there was less room for drama. 

Yet even with his nights now full of other things Peter still felt the need to fill up his empty time with things he couldn't find. There was something missing from his life, and though he didn't want to admit it, Peter knew it was the feeling of having a pack. In Beacon Hills he'd never really had his own pack, and even with Derek it had been a loose connection. But it had been something, and it was that feeling of kinship that he missed, for there was none of that here 

Sometimes at night, after his partner for the night had fallen asleep Peter would go on walks in the dark, or end up in the lake near midnight. Trying to lose himself in the cold temperature of the water and forget about the feeling of needing something that he no longer had. Every once in a while he'd smell flowers and know that Noura had been there earlier, he'd gotten used to her scent and finding it in the forest. More often than not he found it on the dock, and instead of swimming back to the shore he'd sit with his feet in the water and listen to the idle chatter of the forest. Wondering faintly what the red headed girl had been doing that day, and if it was any better than what he had done. 

He'd gotten to know Noura a little more over the past few months and knew the girl was fond of walks during any time of the day, had a sarcastic air about her, always ready to help out, and didn't often lie. She would be turning twenty eight in September and Josephine was already planning a surprise party for her, she'd even asked him what he thought the girl might like for a present, as if he would know any better. 

It was the night of a full moon, Peter only felt the urge to run after he'd slept with a woman who had beautifully dark skin that glowed in the yellow light of the bar. She had a simple wit about her and the two had hit it off immediately and she was almost excited to see his home but more so his bed. They enjoyed each other for an hour or so before she drifted off to sleep, exhausted from what she'd done that day. Peter was left to himself again as he lay next to her, unable to fall asleep because of the need to escape and shift, tire himself out as he sprinted by trees in the forest. 

The air was cool around him as he started to walk down the trail behind his house that led to the lake, he always cooled off in the chilled water after a long run in his other form. Tonight the forest was alight with a white glow from the moon above him, cascading down through the leaves and foliage to cast shadows on the earth. 

Perhaps Peter's favorite part about living so far into the woods was the freedom to be either human or werewolf without anyone ever having to find out. By now, living there for three months, he could recognize most people in the town by smell alone, or hear someone coming from far off as their feet crunched on twigs or leaves. Not only did it make him feel safe it made him feel powerful. Sometimes in Beacon Hills, with all the other supernatural contamination it was hard to tell what was coming or if it was friendly. He didn't have to worry about it here, the forest, this place, was his own world that he knew everything about. 

That was what spurred him on even faster to the beach, his toes just touched the water and already he could feel himself sinking beneath the dark surface into the depths. The thought rushed him into taking off his shirt and pants before plunging into the black and sighing at its icy embrace. With the full moon shining so brightly above him the lake once again turned into a mirror and reflected the white shape. Changing it as he created ripples with his limbs, making it appear as if it was dancing against the small waves. 

He caught a scent before he heard the voice that belonged to it. This time it was honeysuckles, though the smell was slightly deluded probably from her swim Peter knew it belonged to Noura. But why was she out here so late at night? 

"Good morning," she called out to him. 

Peter could just barely make out her shape on the dock in the white glow of the moon. Mostly her form was a silhouette, one that he wouldn't have recognized if not for her familiar scent and sound. For some reason her comment caught him slightly off guard, shouldn't she be frightened by someone coming up to her on the dock? A stranger in the dark that she probably didn't recognize. 

"Who are you?" Her tone didn't change, she still sounded curious but not afraid. She'd only asked when he was closer to the dock, as when she'd first caught his attention he was still very near to the shore. 

"It's Peter," he said after finally getting his hands on the ladder. 

With his weight on one side the dock tipped down towards the water and made Peter stumble a little to get on the uneven wood carefully. He'd always wondered about when Noura ever swam in the lake and sat where she was right now, because he only ever smelled her lingering scent and never actually saw her. 

"Swimming during a full moon is the best isn't it?" There was a soft chuckle in her voice. "The lake turns into a giant mirror." 

On the side she was sitting was the best vantage point for gazing at the moon, so Peter joined her and again the dock dipped more into the water with the added weight. There was enough space in between them for two people, since he wasn't sure how close the girl wanted him to be. 

"And the black water swallows you whole," he finished for her. In the faint light he could see her look away from the moon and down at the water briefly before moving to stare straight ahead. 

After he'd spoken it was quiet for a while, and Peter wondered if the silence was awkward for Noura or if she didn't mind it in the shadow of night. He was curious why she was out on the night of a full moon, even though she'd mentioned that it was the best time for swimming it was still strange to see her out so late. 

"Couldn't sleep, or?" He started to say and she responded quickly. 

"Something like that," she replied in a soft voice. It was really an answer to his question, but at the same time she hadn't deflected it nor changed the subject. Although with her comment Peter could tell that it was something she didn't want to talk about, but he was still curious. 

"Perhaps waiting for someone?" He joked in a smooth voice. 

"Peter," the way she said his name had him looking at her expectantly. "Don't make me push you in the water." 

That was when he'd realized that she'd come out here to be alone and he was invading on her space, not by sitting there with her, because she hadn't seemed to mind when he sat down. It was just the talking that seemed to get under her skin. Of course Peter could understand, if someone had walked into his house and started talking to him while he was trying to read he'd feel much the same way. Although this was a public doc, save for the fact that it was probably around one or two in the morning and she clearly had come out here to be alone. 

He wanted to say something in response and even looked over at her to see if she wore an irritated expression, but she merely looked calmly out across the lake. At her simple dismissal of him all fight died on his lips and he instead listened to the sound of the water rippling beneath them against the wood. The rhythmic beating of their hearts and the whistle of wind through the trees was all he could hear in the air around them, but that was fine. Over the past few months he'd grown used to the silence by himself, the solitary sound of his own heart beating in his chest in the forest around him. 

Somehow it was different with her sitting next to him. Which was strange, because he'd been bringing women home with him for a little while now, yet it had never felt quite like this. Perhaps it was the feelings left over from the full moon that were making him feel this way, he'd met Noura a lot since moving here. The only difference tonight was the full moon. 

For a few minutes Peter let himself focus solely on Noura. Her long red hair, which usually framed the sides of her face nicely, was clinging to her shoulders and back in wet strands. If he didn't know any better he would've thought her hair was black in the shadow of night around them. He hadn't noticed it at first but she appeared to only be wearing a T-shirt that stuck to her like a second skin. The shape of her breasts could be seen through the fabric as it outlined her slender form, she obviously wasn't expecting anyone else tonight. 

It must have been at least ten minutes of just listening to the sound of sleeping forest around them before Noura spoke to him again. 

"Do you like it here?" Her voice was so soft against the slow ripple of the water that Peter almost missed it in his thoughts. She turned to him then, and though her profile had been outlined by the moonlight as her face turned to his it disappeared into the darkness. Faintly, he could make out her gaze on him but that was it. 

"It's different from where I used to live," he started, looking away from her. "Slow and relaxing." 

"That's why I like it," she whispered. 

"Yeah," he agreed. 

The quiet wrapped around them again as Noura turned back towards the water, except this time her legs swished idly in the liquid. Creating even more ripples and filling Peter's head with the soft sound of them breaking the surface. All at once the sound was gone and she was standing next to him, the T-shirt pulling up just enough for him to see the curve of her bottom before her voice caught his attention. 

"Thanks for the quiet," she said over her shoulder. "Sleep well, Peter." 

As soon as she'd said the words Noura took two steps before diving into the darkness and disappearing. He'd meant to say something in return but was left to listen to her gasp for breath as she broke the surface half way to the shore. His ears followed her sound until it faded completely into the forest as she walked back home, and then it was his turn to get back in the water. 

The woman in his bed was still sound asleep when he returned at two in the morning. At the beginning of the run, before he'd hit the lake, Peter felt energized and awake. Yet now, at the sight of naked and a warm bed in front of him his body sagged and fell immediately into a slumber. All thoughts of Noura gone from his mind as soon as he heard the steady heartbeat of the woman in front of him. 

~~~ 

On Saturday when he saw her again during the farmers market the feeling was gone, and it felt like it did every weekend when they would exchange words and bread. Noura smiled at him when he walked up but Lyle took over as soon as he laid eyes on the man and she went on the help the next person in line. That encounter was very brief and soon Peter was walking away with his bread and thinking about what he was going to do with the rest of his night. 

The next few times he went for a swim at night Peter would pause on the shore in the darkness using his wolf vision to see if there was another figure sitting on the dock in front of him. Yet she wasn't there, and after about a week he stopped hesitating on the beach and dove into the water right away. It was as if that night had never happened, which was okay, looking back on it Peter could imagine it as a dream anyway. With the moon reflecting on the lake and Noura's dimly lit figure next to him felt like an illusion, because he'd never been that comfortable in silence before. 

It was two weeks before they had a conversation that wasn't about bread again. During the long nights of summer the town had a festival on Main Street that closed down the road for the entire day. Peter only found out about it because Josephine wouldn't be quiet about how everyone came together and helped prepare for the night. Apparently people came from a bunch of different places to them every years to enjoy games, food stalls, crafts, and romantic walks in the forest. 

He assured Josephine that he was going to stop by and say hello to all his neighbors and such but the older woman was having none of it. Insisting over and over again that in order to get the full experience he had to spend the entire day helping to make sure everything was ready. He finally relented, if only to make her leave him alone, and showed up on Main Street early Saturday morning. Usually it was the farmers market that occupied the space but this time there were places sectioned off for a dance space, and craft stations in the works. 

There were a few people that Peter didn't know all that well bustling around with clipboards and talking to their friends, trying to make themselves feel important he figured. He was really just looking for Josephine, the woman claimed to already have a job for them to do, and if she didn’t show up after a little while he'd leave. Although he could stand to wait for at least a half hour, as there was a woman in his house probably barely waking up and wondering where he was at the moment. He didn’t particularly want to go home to that. 

"Peter," he turned toward the sound of her voice immediately. The woman had just walked up with Kegan, who did not look very excited, and was already talking to someone with a checklist. 

"Good morning," he muttered catching a bland nod from the teenager. 

"Peter this is Abigail, she lives in that house next to the gas station. She's been in charge of making sure everything is covered during the festival for the last few years, Abi is going to tell us where we're needed today," Josephine explained with a smile. Abigail had skin that looked like coffee with creamer in it and black hair that was pulled into a tight ponytail, she eyed Peter for a tight smile before speaking. 

"Nice to meet you," she said in an urgent voice. 

"Likewise," Peter almost smiled at how serious she was being about this. 

"Well," Abigail turned from him back to Josephine. "The Sams are taking care of setting up the dancing area and Theo's Nephew is driving in to set up a portrait station, he has a degree for that," she added. "Josh from the hardware store has a couple games in mind that the boys from the high school are helping him with. Ashley, the artist from California, is setting up some craft stations and is getting help from the some of the girls in the café," she rattled off. Peter and Kegan looked at each other with similar bored expressions. "Most everything is already covered, except for Noura and Lyle's part." 

"They need help?" Kegan jumped to life just as Abigail finished. 

"Yeah," she turned on him with a suspicious look on her face. "Lyle said the more hands they have the better, and the more sweets. It's a little bit of a drive, so no one's picked it up yet," her voice became muffled as she turned back to Josephine. 

"We can do it," the teenager was quick to offer himself and Peter as well. 

"That sounds like a good idea," Josephine beamed at him. She was always excited when her grandson was eager to do something other than stay at home. "Peter, you and Kegan can go help Noura and Lyle, I'm sure they'll be happy to make lunch for you. I'm going to stay and help the Sams with the dance floor, last year they didn't pick very good music," she chuckled. 

Peter didn't have much of a preference but did feel it was a little funny how the older woman had just signed him off on a job without even asking if it was okay or not. Well, it was one of the reasons why he liked her, so he let it slide. Out of all the other things that Abigail had mentioned he probably would have picked Noura and Lyle anyway, at least he knew them enough to feel comfortable around them. 

"You know the way?" Peter questions of Kegan. The kid nodded before they started walking to his old truck. "Well, point me in the right direction." 

They didn't talk much on the way over, but Peter didn’t mind. It was a little awkward at first, but after a few minutes of silence the absence of noise settled comfortably between them until Kegan announced that they were there. 

Lyle's cabin was more surrounded by trees than Peter's was. They had a front patio that wrapped around the house to the back yard, with a few chairs sitting next to the door. It looked to be a cozy enough, perhaps two story home with large windows that looked out into the forest around them. He could just imagine Noura sitting in one of the chairs and listening to the rain during a storm, or looking out the window at night and trying to find stars through the leaves. 

Kegan knocked on the door hesitantly at first and then a little harder the last couple times. It took a minute for someone to open the door, and then Lyle was looking at them confused. 

"Are you here to help?" He questioned grasping the situation. 

"For whatever you need," Peter said eyeing the kid. He was obviously on the lookout for Noura who was probably in the kitchen beating the crap out of some dough. 

"Great!" He grinned brightly at them. "Come in, come in. Noura is in the kitchen making what I think is our sixth batch of chocolate chip cookies and third batch of lemon cupcakes. Try not to burn anything, she gets cranky when she has a deadline," he muttered the last part with a laugh. 

"I'm not sure I've ever seen her cranky," Kegan said as they walked towards the kitchen. 

"It just means she's really sarcastic, well, you'll see," Lyle sighed as they came upon the kitchen. 

Once they were upon the kitchen it was easy to see why Noura might be feeling any sort of stress over what was happening. The dining table, which looked more like a workbench, was covered in cooling cookies and tiny cupcakes as well as a bowl of what looked to be the rejects. It was almost too hot to walk into the room, even though they had opened the back door to bring in the cool morning air the heat was a little suffocating. There were dirty bowls in the sink and a few still on the counter that were filled with batter or other ingredients that Peter could only guess was for the next batch. 

Noura wasn't even in there when they walked upon it, only after they'd stared at the mess for a couple minutes did she walk through the back door and pause when she saw them. She offered them the same suspicious expression Lyle had, and Peter almost laughed at their resemblance, before she smiled warmly. 

"I didn't think anyone was going to come help us," she fake sobbed as she walked towards them. "After all we live so far away from town," she sounded a little bit like Abigail at this point. "It's not like people have cars or anything." She gave Peter a quick hug before Kegan got one as well, doing her best not to touch them with her flour covered hands. "Thank you." 

From the corner of his eye Peter saw Lyle shake his head slightly, they hadn't had to wait very long to see Noura's sarcasm in action. It was different from the how she normally was, but Peter thought it was fun to see another side of her that he usually wouldn't. All he ever saw was happy bread girl, ready to wrap some cookies up and leave the person feeling excited about whatever new pastry they got, this was grumpy Noura in her prime. 

"It was a long drive," Peter joked making her turn on him. "I think I aged a week coming up here," he teased. Kegan opened his mouth in shock next to him while Lyle muffled a laugh when he saw the expression on Noura's face. She was looking at him with an irritated but mostly blank expression, he couldn't tell if her cheeks were red from the heat or from rage. It was cute. 

"Just start wrapping these in bags," she motioned towards the cookies on the table. "Kegan do you want to frost cupcakes or mix batter?" When she'd spoken to Peter her tone was icy and short, but as soon as she turned to the kid she sounded a bit more cheerful and even offered him a small smile. 

"I'll do the cupcakes," he was quick to respond.  

"Great," she nodded handing him one of the few clean bowls in the kitchen. "The frosting is going to be more like a glaze, you'll just have to dip the top in and put it aside to set," she explained moving powdered sugar and lemon juice in his direction. "I'll make the first batch of icing and show you how to do it so you can make the rest, okay?" 

"Alright," Kegan sounded a little worried, but ready all the same. 

"It always seems like you need a lot of liquid, but you won't. One tablespoon is usually fine and then you add a cup of powdered sugar and mix it up, we'll make a double batch right now because there are a lot of cupcakes." She then proceeded to mix the two ingredients together until there was a nice lemon glaze in the bowl. When she went to grab a cupcake from the table Noura gave him an cool stare before turning back around and dipping the top of it into the frosting. 

Lyle had jumped back into the work without a sound and had started washing all of the dishes, setting them aside to dry afterwards. As soon as Noura finished with Kegan she was pulling up a chair to sit next to Peter as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to be doing. 

"Take two cookies, pick a color you like," she said while pulling an orange bag out of a box on the ground. "Put 'em inside, grab a ribbon, tie it off, and repeat." 

"What if I don't like any of those colors?" He smirked as he said it. Noura smirked right back at him before standing up and patting his shoulder with flour covered hand, leaving a white mark. 

"I don't know, I think pink really agrees with you," she said before turning to help Lyle with the dishes. 

"By the way," Lyle's voice caught their attention this time. "You can eat anything in the green bowl on the table, those are the ones we messed up on. There's coffee, or tea if you want, and we usually take a break around twelve thirty for lunch." The rejected cookies tasted great, and so did the cupcakes. 

Peter had been expecting time to go by slowly, as it was only around ten when they arrived, but as soon as they got into the rhythm of the kitchen, and Noura, time flew by. Lyle and his niece were a great team in the kitchen and made sarcastic comments back and forth before bouncing them off himself and Kegan. He'd never seen the kid talk so much as he did when Noura asked him if he'd ever made cookies before and if he could watch the oven. 

After about an hour of wrapping cookies, they kept adding more to his pile, Peter was finally done and ready to move onto the next thing that they had for him. 

"After lunch we'll be making a few batches of caramels and wrapping those as well, but for now we're just waiting for the last few trays of cookies and cupcakes to be done and cooled," Noura said while washing her hands. "Lyle and Kegan are going to finish that up right now, you can help me make lunch if you want?" 

"I thought I was getting a break and now you want me to work more?" Peter scoffed. 

She offered him the same expression she had been giving him all morning, a stiff smirk with a hint of humor in it. During the last hour and a half he'd been making cocky and snide comments to everyone, trying to see what kind of reaction he would get. Very much used to his antics by now she knew how to deflate his amusement. 

"Oh, I'm sorry grandpa, did you hurt your back sitting in that chair?" It sounded sincere but Peter knew better than to believe the worried tone in her voice by now. This was grumpy stressed Noura who wasn't afraid to snap back at him or return the sarcasm, this was the version of her that he liked the most so far. It made him somewhat disheartened that he would probably not see it again after they were finished. 

"What are we making?" 

"Chicken tacos with homemade tortillas and a corn black bean, salsa type thing," she said while cleaning off the stove and turning one of the burners on. "I already started the dough for the tortillas, that'll sit for another fifteen minutes. This pan is for the chicken, onion, and bell pepper," she explained while walking over to the fridge for ingredients.  

"I can do that part, onions first for more flavor," he grabbed it from her. 

"Right," she smiled at him. "I'll make the salsa." 

As soon as the last batches were in the oven Lyle came over to finish the salsa while Kegan and Noura started on rolling out eh tortillas and cooking them in another frying pan. 

"That one isn't even close to being circular," Peter scoffed at the third rolled out piece of dough to hit the pan. So far they'd been somewhat the right shape, but mostly strange sort of blobs that barely resembled what they were supposed to be.  

"Well switch with me and see how you do," Noura muttered with a glare. 

"We're never able to get them as perfect as the store bought ones," Lyle chimed in. "But they always taste better." 

The better part of five minutes was spent rolling out one tortilla while the rest of the kitchen laughed at Peter's attempt to make it perfect. In the end it was the closest to being a circle, but Noura insisted that he be docked points for taking so long to bring out the final product.  They ate lunch outside on a picnic table that was set up on the back porch. Under the trees is was cool and a relief compared to the still sweltering kitchen that Kegan complained about at least every fifteen minutes. 

Everything for the summer festival was ready by about two thirty, which was good because they were supposed to be setting up the sweets booth by at least three thirty. People usually started showing up around four or five with their little ones so they could get to sleep at a decent time afterwards. Although the actual end time was around eleven or twelve, depending on how long people wanted to stick around the tiny town. 

They spent about an hour setting everything up and making sure it was all perfect, until Abigail came through and told them how wrong it was anyway. Not they any of them took it to heart, Noura even laughed while the other woman was talking and made Abi check something off on her clipboard with a growl. 

Then they were done and Noura thanked them with another hug before going to get something from the car while Lyle said they were free to go where they wanted now. Kegan went immediately to look for Josephine and ask her how long they were planning on staying, muttering something about walking back to the house. Peter had gotten cupcake batter on his clothes and was planning on going back home for a little while before rejoining in the festival. On the way back to his house he mused about how quickly the day had gone by, it was already almost four thirty and he'd been expecting it to drag. He'd been so caught up with what was going on in the kitchen and the feeling of being needed he'd ignored the small bit of homesickness that came with it. 

After all the noise that had surrounded him in the kitchen at Lyle's house his quiet living room felt empty. Immediately his thoughts turned to bringing someone home from the festival to fill the silence with something, it always seemed to work before anyway. 

What first drew his attention was the faint smell of another wolf somewhere in the crowd, but of course there would be one at such an event, he'd have to ignore it as best he could. There were children running all over the street, some with their faces painted and others holding balloons or a stuffed animal. He walked past the booth they set up just a couple hours ago expecting to see Lyle or Noura behind the table, but it looked to be some teenagers instead. Peter picked up some food from another stand and followed the sound of music hoping to find someone that would follow him home that night. 

The dance floor took up half of the street and was full of mostly older couples, as the night was still young, although there were some little girls dancing with their fathers. The music sounded old and after a moment of listening Peter recognized the song as some old swing music. He probably should have shown up later if he was waiting for women his age to show up to dance, but he was here now so he'd have to make due. 

In the crowd there looked to be a few ladies around the age he was looking for, none of them he recognized upon first glance which was good. Most of them looked to be dancing with their husband or boyfriend, only two of them were different. One was dancing with a little boy, who Peter begrudgingly assumed was her son, while the other was swaying slowly back and forth with his neighbor Theo. He didn't know much about the older man except that his wife had left him many years ago and he had about four dogs that barked like crazy whenever Peter walked by. 

"Come sit down," Lyle's voice called out to him. The man was sitting down in one of the ten or so chairs on the sidewalk next to the speakers. "This is where you sit if you're waiting for a partner to dance with," he explained. "Did you want to dance?" 

"Maybe," Peter sighed taking the seat next to him. "Are you going to?" 

"I've promised Josephine a couple, she said to wait while she gets Kegan. Noura's going to dance with him after Theo gets tired, shouldn't be too much longer," he laughed looking back towards the crowd. 

In slight disbelief Peter searched for the odd couple again, coming easily across the old dark skinned man in order to observe the woman he was dancing with. The current song playing was fast paced and made it hard for him to be able to pick out her features as people moved to and fro, but the hair color was familiar at least. It was strange for him to be unable to recognize someone, especially Noura, as he'd gotten quite used to her scent. He didn't have to wait long for her to walk over to them, before the end of the song Theo was leading her towards the chairs carefully, dodging people left and right. 

All at once she was in front of him, smelling like lilacs, but looking like a completely different person. Peter was used to seeing Noura with her hair up in a ponytail or a tight bun on Saturday mornings when she was working, but it was free and curled. He'd never seen her in anything but shorts and some type of short sleeve stop, yet now she was wearing a white lace dress and sandals. There was just a little bit of makeup on her face, her eyes outlined with a little bit of white to make the dark grey orbs pop, and some red lipstick. She looked so different it felt like he was meeting her for the first time and he didn’t know what to say. 

"Welcome back stranger," she smiled at him. Just as he was about to respond the familiar scent of Josephine's perfume crept up behind him with Kegan in tow. 

"Noura you look beautiful," the older woman gasped at the sight of her. 

"Some of the girls at the booth insisted they doll me up, and I didn't have anything else to do. So I let them," she explained brushing some hair out of her face. 

"Now Kegan is going to get some very jealous looks dancing with you tonight," she teased with a chuckle. 

"Grandma," the kid muttered embarrassed. 

"Well it's true," she mused. "Lyle I think you owe me a dance or two." 

"Be gentle with me," the man joked as they disappeared into the crowd. Kegan and Noura soon followed, Peter watched her red hair dance along with them before his eyes found someone else walking towards the area. 

Theo, who was watching everyone having fun with a small smile, patted his shoulder and urged him to ask her to dance. The woman was wearing a peach colored strapless dress that went along nicely with her bleached blonde hair, the way it twirled out when he spun her made him wonder how easy it might be to take off. A slower song brought them closer together, and for a quick second Peter caught Noura's gaze as he inched his hand down the woman's back. She smirked at him knowingly, and it almost looked like she laughed for a second before Kegan spun her away. 

After a couple dances the woman Peter was dancing with, who introduced herself as Julia, excused herself to go find a bathroom. Which left the man alone in front of the dance floor before he moved back towards the chairs, still eyeing any new people who had shown up in the crowd. Lyle was still dancing with Josephine, although he looked a little more worn than when he had started the first song. Apparently the older woman had more gusto when it came to dancing to old swing music, his only hope was that she would tire out before deciding that it was time to dance with him. 

When fifteen minutes had passed and Julia had not returned Noura was the one that appeared next to him with a grim look on her face. Her cheeks were slightly pink from all the movement and her loose red hair looked wilder than ever as he remembered it fanning out as she was twirled. 

"Ditched ya, huh?" She asked while taking the seat next to him. 

"She went to the bathroom," he said nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair. 

"Yeah, no," she sighed. "That was Julia Ballon, married to the man who owns the big grocery store in the next town. She likes to lead guys on to make her husband jealous, once told me jealous sex was the best in the world. Yeah, she's not coming back." Peter looked at her then to see that she was smiling a little smugly at his expression. "She does it to everyone." 

"Well thanks for the warning," he scoffed. 

"Oh," she laughed. "Your welcome." 

He threw her an incredulous glance to see that she was staring back into the swaying group of people in front of them. He could see her freckles peeking out from underneath the makeup, and the small bit of eyeliner that made her dark grey eyes seem to pop out even more than usual. The closeness reminded him of being on the dock in the middle of the night and the shape of her body against the moonlight as she gazed off into the lake. 

"How about a dance to ease my pain?" He offered standing up suddenly. 

"Of course, anything for a hurting friend," she said with a smile. 

There was a lot of spinning that followed and laughter as he and Noura did their best to pick on and make fun of each others dance moves. She turned out to be very good at going with the beat and stepping smoothly into whatever pace he threw her into. One dance turned into two dances without either of them noticing. Mid-spin the bread girl turned into a beautiful dance partner that was his to manipulate, and he couldn't get enough of the way her hair looked whipping about or the way her dress spun and lifted up. Alight with humor her eyes found his and Peter thought of the first time he'd seen her, the small smile that graced her face and the smell of flowers that surrounded them. 

Making it feel as if they were the only ones in the area and the floor was theirs to move back and forth on. The people around them had gone away somewhere, vanished into the blurry background that passed by as they danced, but it didn't feel lonely. Since he'd been here whenever Peter was alone the silence almost suffocated him at times, mostly at night when the moon looked down at him from above. Yet this feeling of isolation was different, Noura's presence had it thrumming and insistent, reminding him of the urgency of the rhythm.  

They would have gone into the next song without a hitch if someone hadn't been calling her name and stealing her attention away from him. As their eyes pulled away from each other Peter felt the feeling of seclusion fall away, making the sudden presence of everyone else a little too much for him. 

"We're going to get some food, do you want to come?" Lyle called out to them over the music. Josephine and one of the Sams had already started walked towards the booths at the other end of the street. Noura glanced back at him quizzically, asking without words if he wanted to join, and he merely shrugged while nodding slowly. 

With a smile she grabbed his hand and lead him out of the crowd and into the street to follow her uncle, letting go as soon as they'd caught up. 

"Looked like you guys were having fun," Lyle said after nodding towards Peter. 

"I think he was trying to make me mess up," she muttered and earned a smirk from the wolf. "But it was fun." 

"Where did Kegan end up?" Her uncle questioned. 

"He stepped on my foot at one point, got embarrassed, and left. Even though I told him it was fine," she chuckled while shaking her head.  

"Did Julia ditch Peter?" 

"Yup," was the simple reply. 

"So everyone knows," Peter sighed. 

"Pretty much, the old ladies in town like to gossip and Josephine always fills us in," Lyle offered him an apologetic smile. 

"We were waiting for it to happen," Noura said as if to comfort him.  

"Thanks again," he laughed sarcastically. 

After his somewhat public flop Peter simply wanted to escape the festival, maybe go for a swim while the light was settling into dusk, but Noura kept him busy. With Josephine and Lyle following behind the red haired woman led them to the craft table after they'd eaten, and then it was some time for some silly carnival games. Noura was uselessly skilled at winning prizes that were usually stuffed animals or silly putty, although she always gave them away to kids they walked past, claiming she didn't need them. Peter won his fair share as well, but followed her lead and gave them away, he had no need for cheap toys anyway. 

Finally, around nine fifteen, after things had slowed down, Lyle called out to Noura one last time about how they should turn in for the night. 

"Already?" Peter gasped making her scowl at him. "What are you a twelve year old?" 

"Just because I'm going back to my house doesn't mean I'm going to sleep," she said defensively. "Besides, it's better than spending my nights with a different person everytime." 

It was something that the woman had teased him about while they were throwing baseballs at tin cans hoping to knock them down. When questioned she was keen to remind him that the old ladies in town loved to gossip and since he was the newest member of their community he was usually the topic of conversation. They'd noticed him bringing home a different person every night and usually leaving before said girl even woke up in the morning. Forever nosy, Josephine was always the greatest source of information about anyone she knew or didn't know. Noura explained that she would come over for tea once a week and spill her guts to Lyle, hoping to get the man interested in some of the rumors so they could talk more. But he rarely was. 

"I find there is less drama when you don't have to see the person again after leaving them so early in the morning," he countered. Noura laughed at such a remark and eyed him suspiciously. 

"Did you have fun today?" She asked, genuinely curious it seemed. Peter considered answering sarcastically for a moment but figured the redhead was looking for a serious answer. 

"I wasn't expecting to," he said at first. "But, yes, I did. Why?" 

"I just thought," she hesitated, grinning briefly. "You've been looking a little lonely, maybe missing home." 

He was. Subconsciously, there were little things throughout the day that reminded him of Beacon Hills and what he'd left behind. Maybe he didn't have too much of a family there anymore, or at least a family that wanted him, but it had been something.  

"Not really," he muttered trying to shrug it off. It was quiet while he waited for Noura to respond to his dismissal of the topic, she looked at him unfazed and perhaps irritated, before finally speaking. 

"The next time it rains, can I show you something?" She sounded confident and seemed to be almost glaring at him. He'd been expecting her to call him out on it, as she had been doing for most of the day in regards to his sarcastic or mean comments, but the question caught him off guard. 

"Yeah, I guess," he responded without really thinking about it. 

"Cool," she said. With that she looked to where Lyle was before patting Peter on the shoulder. "Have a good night Peter." 

"You too?" He wasn't sure what to make of her at that moment. All day long she'd been snappy and fun to pick on, but still able to give it right back to him. Then at times she was considerate and calculating, holding up a conversation well enough without making it too awkward or forced, she was easy to talk to.  Yet there were a few times that she caught him by surprise and he wasn't sure how to reply, but he liked that about her. 

Now he was left to wonder about what she was going to show him on the next rainy day. 

~~~ 

A week and a half after the festival saw a sunny Thursday morning that was followed by a blanket of dark clouds into the afternoon. Peter had forgotten about the rainy day mystery a few days after Noura had talked to him about it, although the question would pop into his head fleetingly every other day or so. With all his free time he had adopted a new schedule, one that he was still getting used to now that he wasn't avoiding other werewolves or death. His old pack was very fast paced and always seemed to be in trouble, which helped keep him occupied during long boring days. Now that he didn't have that he had nothing to do. 

His mornings started with a run, half shifted, through the forest and some other exercise to keep his body ready for anything that might happen. Which was probably foolish because nothing would happen in such a quiet town, but it bode well to do it anyway. Then he ate breakfast and spent a few hours reading or writing, and working on his new hobby, or time waster as he'd been saying recently. Building furniture. Although he was starting small, with benches and shelves that so far hadn't worked and looked quite embarrassing. There was no one to laugh at him, so he continued. 

Sometimes he'd skip lunch without thinking about it and finally end up at dinner which would either land him in a bar looking for a new hook up, or at home trying a new recipe. If he brought someone home night was spent in pleasure, if he'd stayed in he went to the lake for a late night swim and walk through the trees. The monotony of his days were beginning to get to him. 

"Peter," a knock at his door and someone shouting caught his attention. It had only been raining for about twenty minutes and for a moment he wondered who could be at the door before remembering Noura's comment. He opened the door to see that she was already soaked, her red hair plastered to the side of her face and shoulders as if it belonged there. 

"And here I thought you'd forgotten," he smirked at her appearance. It reminded him of the night of the full moon, and he couldn’t help but think of the shape of her breasts beneath her T-shirt, or the outline of her nipples. 

"Take everything out of your pockets and let's go," she commanded of him suddenly. 

"Noura-," he started to protest but she interrupted him. Initially, when she'd asked him, he'd responded yes because it had been such a weird question that he wasn't sure how to respond. Now as the rain beat against his roof and pelted the ground outside he wondered if it was such a great idea after all. 

"You don't have anything better to do anyway," she snapped at him. He considered her for a moment. Her blue tank top was clinging to her skin so much he could see the outline of her bra underneath, and her shorts looked so heavy with water that they seemed to be sagging down her legs. 

"You're not wrong," he finally sighed. It only took a couple moments for him to get ready to walk in the rain, when he was Noura was already standing away from the door and waiting for him. "Well, let's go." 

"I think you'll like it," she said over the roar of the drops on the leaves around them. 

There was very little conversation on the way to the lake, Peter recognized the path she was taking him on almost immediately. It was already so loud with the storm around them that whenever they spoke to each other it was at a shout. Noura was all smiles and excitement for the majority of the walk, her steady heartbeat leading the way for his own to follow. 

He'd gotten soaked after about five minutes, as the rain was still coming down in little droplets until about half way through when it started pouring and made him wonder what they were doing out here. Although Noura had once said it was best to walk in the rain he was starting to regret following her out into the forest, it wasn't like he was keeping someone waiting or wasting time. For he had all the time in the world to waste. 

As they came upon the lake the noise intensified, big fat drops petling themselves against the surface and disappearing into the large body of water in front of them. The constant movement of the ripples and jumping liquid had Peter staring at it for a few moments while Noura came upon the beach and started taking off her shoes and socks. She motioned for him to come towards her, stopping next to her while she closed the distance. 

They were so close that if he moved an inch forward they would be touching, his lips just a breath away from her forehead as she looked up at him with a smile. When they'd first left his house she would shiver every few seconds until her body adjusted to the cold temperature of the rain. He wondered if a shiver would bring them closer together, or if their skin would be the same temperature after their walk. 

"Take off your shoes, follow me, and stop thinking," she said as the rain dripped off her nose and lips. If they had not been so close together the words would have been lost to the noise around them. Then she was gone, turning away from him suddenly to walk into the dark water in front of him that was jumping and shifting to accommodate her legs. 

Peter couldn't stop thinking about how silly this was, how childish of him to follow someone into the forest and then go swimming with all his clothes on. Yet the thoughts flew from his mind as he trudged into the lake, unfazed by the cold temperature as it was the same he'd been walking in for the last half hour. He couldn't help but marvel at the feeling of becoming enveloped by it, as if it was a cold gust of wind promising to take him away. 

Then it was all around him and inside of his throat and ears, the deafening noise of the rain against the water. His feet left the bottom as he swam out to where Noura's head was bobbing above the surface, her gaze focused on him solely as he moved towards her. 

There was nothing to say, no snarky retort came to mind as it was filled with the sound around him, so he smiled instead. She returned it and he could just barely see her pale arms working to keep her afloat as she turned away from him to look at the forest for a moment. 

It was thunderous, the noise. So loud and commanding Peter could think about nothing else but how it dug it's way into his skin and buried itself in his head. Noura had started moving towards the dock by the time he noticed that she was no longer in front of him. This time when he sat down next to her it was close enough for their knees to touch, although his were covered by fabric. Again her gaze was not on him, but the scenery around them. Was she thinking about the rain? Or something else altogether? 

Either way Peter was thankful that she had insisted upon him following her, that she wasn't deterred by his attitude. In that moment, as he looked at her looking at the rain Peter could only think about how much he was looking forward to the next time it was raining, and if Noura would join him again. It was his turn to lean in close to her, this time his shoulder touched hers and she seemed to flinch slightly at their closeness. 

"Thank you," was all he said. 

He moved away at that point and gave her a chance to respond, but she merely turned to look at him with a fond expression on her face and nodded slowly. Then her gaze moved away from him and he wanted, for just a second, to know what she was looking at.


	2. Chapter 2

Soaked with rain the ground beneath his shoes squelched and squished as if he was walking through a swamp. Everything was wet, but he wasn't cold, although that could've been from the numbness that enveloped his body like a blanket. Morning had been clouded in a shallow grey light, as the sun rose to find a storm blocking its shine from the town below. Noura had mentioned that she equally liked the gloom as much as the sunshine, because it showed the effect that different colored light had in the forest. He hadn't thought much about it at first, but he couldn't miss the morose calmness that came with a dreary morning. 

Thunder had started roaring near lunch, and a cascade of rain had followed. Starting out with a drizzle, Peter had been coming back from a quick trip into town, and looked up at the murky sky in anticipation. It had been a few weeks since they had gone to the lake together, the immense noise that surrounded them in the water and the heaviness of his clothes as he walked back alone stuck in his mind. Sometimes he woke with the deafening feeling in his throat and wished it would drown out his wandering thoughts. Little by little this place was starting to feel like home, a piece of him looked forward to passing the river on the way back to his cabin. The familiarity of the trees and his neighbors was nice and unchanging, unless Josephine got some new perfume anyway. Even parts of the forest now smelled like those who walked in it, for instance, Noura's side of the river always seemed to smell like flowers. 

Her face flashed in his mind for a second as he stared at the sky, she was probably looking at it as well. Or perhaps she was already walking around and enjoying the grey filter the clouds had cast over the earth. Then it'd started pouring. Large drops pounded against the leaves and grass wildly, pelting the ground with water and making little rivers out of walking trails. He waited for it to let up a bit before setting out towards the lake. He wasn't hesitant this time though. When Noura had led him before, he'd followed tentatively, unsure of the water soaking through his clothes and chilling his bones. 

Another thing he liked about living in the woods was how the rain washed the land clean. It covered everything in a wet finish and offered a new world of smells and scents once it dried. Noura was usually the first person to go out after a storm, and he could always tell by the strong scent of jasmine that lifted off the bushes he walked by. The loudest part of walking through the forest was the water bouncing off the leaves as it came down to the ground. Nothing held up to the feeling of being in the lake but it certainly came in second, closely followed by the pitter patter it created on his roof. 

Shoes felt likes puddles after about five minutes, and he promised to leave them off altogether the next time around. 

The dock looked farther away than usual, perhaps some of the kids had tried to push it close to the other side, which had happened at least once before. Noura was already there, he recognized her figure from the shore and could just make her out in the blurriness of the rain. He barely remembered to shuck off his shoes before getting in, since he'd stopped feeling the cold a little while ago everything he wore clung to him like a second skin. It swallowed him immediately, lapping at his ankles and knees as he walked out into the deep. Just barely, he could hear the sloshing as he moved, else it was devoured by the hungry noise of the rain on the lake around him. 

Once again, he felt weightless and achingly open as the racket of weather tore into him and stole away his lungs and thoughts. Alone, her figure looked somewhat forlorn, though he knew that she was probably looking out across the rippling lake with delight or fascination. She didn't notice him until his weight dipped the dock, and even then, her gaze lifted to him for just a moment. A small smile played on her lips before she turned back towards the forest beyond. She was wearing a thin yellow tank top this time, the fabric clung to her skin as if it belonged there. The outline of her torso, breasts, and nipples stood out starkly against the dull color of the background behind her. Red hair looked shades darker and stuck to her face as she turned towards him once more, leaning in close. 

"I was wondering if you were going to show up," she said loudly. Her lips were at his ear as she tried to speak over the noise of the rain, her comment splitting through the deafening emptiness. 

"Waited for it to die down a little," he replied with just as much volume. She nodded in response and shifted over slightly to allow him to sit down next to her, their knees touching. This was what he'd been missing the past few weeks, the fullness of sound and emptiness of thought that took over his being, and the person to share it with. 

For about five minutes he let himself get lost in it, the feeling that had been choking him ever since Noura had showed him last time. He thought about it as he sat in the bar sometimes, imagining that his feet weren't pressing against his chair but instead on the dock, buried in the water. Then he would pick up a woman for the night and fill his mind with the warmth of contact and skin on skin action. Of course, it wasn't the only thing that was ever on his mind, it was just one of the most powerful and commanded all his attention when it crossed his thoughts. 

Her lips were on his ears again, and he found that he had to concentrate in order to hear her speaking. 

"Don't be afraid of the bigger drops," she teased before pushing off the dock into the water. 

He watched her head disappear for a second, eaten by the franticness of the rippling waves, before she surfaced. Offering him nothing but a grin she started back towards the shore. Peter followed her bobbing head for a moment, vaguely aware of the empty space next to him. It wasn't that Noura demanded all the attention or anything, her presence wasn't that commanding in the first place. It just made him feel welcome. One of the things he liked about the town, and all his neighbors, was how easy it was to live there. None of them changed how they behaved around people from one person to the next, their kindness was effortless and their humor, well meaning. It could be because he lived out in the boonies and didn't run past many others anyway, but it was nice. 

Just as he stepped off the dock for his return the rain started to let up even more, going back to the drizzle that had started two hours before. It stopped completely on his walk back as he listened to the squish of his shoes against soaked earth. The numbness started to wear off as he got closer and closer to his cabin, the weight of his wet clothing wearing heavily on his body was tiring. Warm rays of sun had begun to leak through the blanket of clouds as he opened the door, wiping away the gloom as if it never happened at all. 

~~~ 

The fourth of July passed without too much excitement. He'd spent the night in the next town over, where there was an annual barbecue and fireworks shown over the lake. Kids ran around with sparklers and played on the playground while Peter worked his magic on a woman. She was so drunk near the end of the night he didn't even have to ask her if she wanted to continue the conversation at his place. The sex was clumsy and short, and ultimately left him unsatisfied and questioning why he kept this up at all. 

It was the sound of fireworks that brought him out of his thoughts. They'd left after the ones for kids went off at around nine thirty but had gone before the adult afterparty came to its peak at around twelve. Josephine had mentioned something to him about their own towns little get together but he'd already planned on going to the bigger one instead. Hoping that the hype of a holiday would get him something exciting in bed, although that had fallen quite short. 

Lyle was in charge of setting off the fireworks, which took place on the doc in the middle of the lake, while Josephine handled the smaller ones on the shore. Making sure that the kids didn't burn themselves with lighters or set anything in the forest on fire. There hadn't been much of an urge in Peter's gut to participate, the lure of lust clouding his mind, but now he felt bad for not being there. Would Noura be helping out with the kids as well, or swimming back and forth with more supplies? He could imagine her stopping midway in order to watch the streaming colors of a roman candle reflecting shakily on the water. Her face lighting up every so often in blue, green, and red as the bigger ones popped in the sky above her. 

She could have been sitting on the doc with her uncle, her soft features illuminating when she lit the fuse of another bottle rocket. Kegan was probably next to her, or looking after her form as she disappeared into the dark waves. His eyes raking over her figure as her clothes stuck to her skin. 

There was a sudden twang in his chest and Peter almost cursed himself for feeling regretful that he hadn't spent the night with the rest of the town. With these thoughts came a hand on his back, making him shiver and turn around suddenly. 

"We're not done yet," came the woman's rasping voice. 

She was still sloppy and did her best to mouth lazily on his neck before moving lower and lower. The disappointment flitted out of his mind quickly as he turned back onto her, his hands tangling in her blonde hair as he pushed the image of Noura from his mind. It was soon full of the woman below him and the way she moved and writhed, yet through the noise he couldn't help but make out the distinct sound of distant explosions. 

In the next few days the lake smelled of nothing but gun powder and smoke, all traces of floral scents wiped from the doc and any of the surrounding area. Other than that, the place looked very much the same, making him wonder if someone had spent time cleaning it. Probably a certain red head. 

He put it from his mind and didn't think about it again until he saw Noura at the farmers market. Early on he'd learned that if he wanted the best selection of bread he had to arrive early or right when it started as many other people seemed to have the same idea. Lyle was getting the rest of their stock out while she smiled at anyone who liked to stare. 

"We missed you on the fourth," she said as he walked up to the booth. 

"You did?" He mused. "I didn't think we were that close." His comment had her staring at him blandly, obviously unimpressed with how he thought of himself. 

"Well," she smirked. "Josephine did. Me?" She questioned herself. "Not so much." The tone of her voice said she was joking, but her face was set in a stern stare. She held it for a moment before breaking it off with a grin and a small chuckle. "We had fun though," she nodded getting a bag ready for him. "You'll have to come next year." 

At that point Lyle was back at the booth and greeting Peter as well, asking him how his fourth had gone but not going any further than that. Bread and money were exchanged quickly before he went on his way back to his cabin, thinking on what Noura had said to him. 

Next year. 

It was weird to hear it, but even stranger to think about what would happen in a year. In Beacon Hills the future was always so uncertain and inconsistent that each month was a victory for even being alive. There was also the need for more power, if only to keep himself kicking longer and get rid of anyone else who might be in his way. 

None of that had followed him here though. Everyone had their place, no one was pushing at him for something that didn't belong, nor was he doing it to anyone else. The days passed by peacefully, although mostly uneventful, and the most exciting thing he had to look forward to was how the forest around him would change in fall and then winter. He looked forward to the weekends, to having a woman to grab onto or losing his breath when the water in the lake made him numb. 

There was an old motorcycle that he'd started to fix up and furniture that Josephine had asked him to mend. Compared to what he used to have and what he had now, the two worlds were so different he was sure Derek wouldn't even be able to recognize who he had become. These were the days, the life that people wanted to have, to be able to easily say that they would be repeating something the next year. It sounded weird in his head, but then he thought of Noura. 

Lately when her face came to mind it was accompanied by the deafening sound of rain on the lake, the fullness of noise blocked everything around him out. Just the thought of it left him feeling content. There was no need to talk or wonder about what had been going through her mind at the time, because they were the same as his own. 

Somehow that was comforting. He couldn't quite explain it. 

~~~ 

Near the end of July, Peter barely noticed it, but the Farmers Market was more populated with kids than normal. Usually, since it started marginally early, the area was more flooded with older couples, adults, some teenagers, and the occasional child that had been dragged along by their parents. Else he assumed all the other ones in town were at home sleeping in or watching Saturday morning cartoons, just like he had done when he was little. Yet this time they were milling about excitedly, which was strange, until he saw the signs for a tie-dyeing event that he vaguely remembered Josephine telling him about. It now made sense that they were all carrying white shirts and pieces of cloth. 

He didn't think much more of it and went to see Lyle and Noura instead, although it was just the older man there this time, milling about at a quick pace since he was alone. There was a longer line than usual, probably because of all the parents that had dropped their kids off for the morning and now had nothing to do but wander around and look at stalls. Halfway through standing in line Peter realized Noura was probably helping with the event, since she seemed to like the little buggers that were always running about town. 

"Noura helping the kids?" He asked of the man when it was his turn. Lyle chuckled at his question and nodded, his eyes lighting up at a familiar face. 

"Yeah, she loves it and the kids love her," he said going to grab the loaves Peter had pointed out. 

"Is it an annual thing?" Peter questioned while going for his wallet. 

"Well it started the next town over about Seven years ago, since there's more families over there and such, but a few years back they replaced it with a carnival instead. But a lot of kids missed dunking their arms in dye or something," he laughed. "So, Ashley offered to organize it, and the high school agreed to offer some community service credit for any students who volunteered. Noura's done it a couple years in a row now and knows all the different techniques so they always ask her first." He explained while wrapping up his bread and pastries. 

"You make her sound like some master craftsman," Peter smirked before exchanging his money for the bag. 

"Well, go watch her," he grinned. "The things she can do with string and a T-Shirt, always make the coolest designs." 

"Okay, I'll take a gander," Peter chuckled walking away with a small wave. 

The tie-dyeing tent was at the end of the street and took up the whole road. There was a table set up in front of it with a couple teenagers checking kids in and taking a few dollars for material expenses. It was packed with children, and it was only the first session, there were two more coming afterwards before they would be done for the day. As he approached, one of the students tried to get his attention before Peter finally looked at him, the guy was tapping his finger on his list of people that were supposed to be helping out. 

"What's your name?" He said eyeing the adult skeptically. 

"I'm not on the list, but I just-," the teen cut him off. 

"Then why are you here?" He asked. Bored eyes met him accusingly, as if Peter was a stalker or something, following children around. He had to stop himself from laughing or snarling in the kids face at the tone that was coming out of him, teachers had their work cut out for them. 

"Noura's here right?" 

He could tell the name was recognized because there was a pause in which the girl next to him sighed and looked very annoyed to even be sitting there. As he said her name Peter could hear her talking loudly, as if trying to scream during a concert, which made sense because everyone chatting had become very loud. She was standing on one side of the tent holding up a white T-Shirt that she shook every once in a while, in order to get their attention until they quieted down. The other side had large bins full of dye and more volunteers standing in front of each color in case anyone would need help. There was even some pictures behind Noura of the different designs. 

"He can come in Eli," it was Josephine's voice that cut between them. 

If he had really wanted to Peter could have simply walked past the table into the tent and ignored them completely, which he kind of wished he had done now. The older woman beckoned him over to where she was sitting down in the back with what looked like the rest of the parents that decided to stick around. There were a couple on their phones, but the vast majority were watching with faint smiles on their faces. Probably happy that their spawn was entertained and gave them a chance to sit down in the shade and watch. 

"Did you come to help or are you just watching?" She questioned as he took a seat next to her. 

"Lyle told me that Noura was a master craftsman and I came to see for myself," he chuckled as the children finally hushed themselves. Josephine smiled knowingly but said nothing else as their red headed friend started off. 

Noura had her hair in a bun, like usual for the Farmers Market, and was wearing a tie dye shirt that looked like the typical sought-after look, a multicolored spiral that started in the middle of her chest. She was also wearing black short shorts and flip flops, her tanned legs looked darker than normal in the shade. The other volunteers were also wearing tie dye shirts, making Peter wonder if they had gotten together beforehand to make them and be coordinated. 

"Hi everyone my name is Noura, and I'm going to be showing you a few different techniques to make your shirt really cool!" She said with a wide smile on her face. "I'm going to show you some pictures first, and then you can decide which one you want to do." She spoke slowly so that everyone would be able to hear her and understand what was going on. "Then I'll show you how to do each one. When you finish tying your shirt, or whatever you're dyeing," she grinned over at a child who appeared to have a white teddy bear. "Then you can make your way to the dyeing station where you pick out your colors." 

She then went on to show them all the different looks they could get with string and simple knots and told them all the colors they had for them to use. Peter's favorite was the inverted V technique, while Noura said that her best results came from the banded box. She talked about six different types and then went through the slow process of showing each one very carefully, at which point, more teenagers moved through the crowd of sitting children to help any that looked like they were getting frustrated. Noura caught Peter's gaze at one point and grinned before helping a little girl in front of her while Josephine made sure to keep him talking about one thing or another. 

The whole process looked like a mess, which was why Noura was probably wearing flip flops, just in case any of the dye spilled at least she wouldn't get it on her shoes. Kids had already finished tying their shirts off and were moving towards the bins, excitement set in their features. Peter wasn't sure if he could've handled all the children, not after watching the red head repeat things over and over again while helping out those that were having trouble. Then there were all their whiny voices as they chattered about colors and asking their parents why they didn't bring another shirt to dye, or if they could have money for another one. The last station that they went to was the bagging zone, which was run by Ashley, who was instructing the kids that they were to leave their shirts alone for at least four hours, longer if they wanted brighter colors, before opening it and putting it in the washing machine. They were given a piece of paper with the instructions on it for their parents and then they were free to go. 

He hadn't thought about it while it was happening, but Peter enjoyed watching everything play out, or to be more exact, watching her. Which he didn't want to admit but had no other explanation for why he stayed through the entire thing when he wasn't a parent or even a teenager helping out. He'd caught sight of Kegan at one point, who was in charge of the bin of green dye and noticed that he was also taking glances at the red headed woman. Although with kids coming up to him every few minutes it really cut back on his time to stare, Peter had to at least admit that the crush he had on her was cute, even though nothing would come of it. 

There was one moment when Noura had smiled fondly at some kids in front of her, soft features caught his attention immediately and his mind went wild with thoughts. Like waking up in the morning and seeing her next to him, a sleepy happiness on her face much like the expression she was showing. He stilled at the thought and shook his head slowly, as far as he was concerned, after living here for the past months, Noura was off limits as a bed partner. Though that didn't stop him from holding onto the image of her in bed next to him, she'd probably tease him about his disheveled hair before messing it up even more. 

He had to stop himself again from thinking about it further, as his mind was already wandering further into the daydream. She'd probably laugh if she ever found out about them anyway. 

Only when the first few kids were leaving did Noura finally come over to them to sit down with a laugh. She'd tried once before but was stopped by someone who had gotten another shirt and wanted to try a different technique. At the front, where Peter had gotten stopped by Eli, they were selling extra shirts for five dollars, just in case someone had forgotten theirs, or messed it up somehow. 

"Peter," she sounded slightly winded. "Be a dear and block me from view." He grinned at her playfully and leaned back entirely, leaving her open for anyone who had a question. "I see how it is," she gave him a cold stare. 

"Think you can make it through the entire day?" Josephine mused as kids waved goodbye to the red head with their soggy bags held proudly at their sides and their parents offering, at times, a simple nod of thank you. 

"I might pass out later, once this is all done with," she chuckled softly. "But, it's fun," she mused. "They're just so excited." 

"They look forward to it every year now," the older woman said with a grin. At first the town had been a little wary of taking the event over, as they worried it might be somewhat of a bust since it would be held in the smaller of the two towns. But the parents didn't seem to mind carting their kids fifteen minutes down the highway if it meant they would get a morning off for a change. 

"If it didn't take so long to clean up I'd be a lot more excited about the end of it," Noura sighed. "But, oh well," she chuckled. 

"I'm sure Peter wouldn't mind helping out," Josephine muttered while patting him on the shoulder. 

"What?" Peter responded having heard his name. He'd been distracted by a child trying to shove his shirt into a bag that wasn't open yet, smiling slightly as he seemed to get increasingly frustrated with the plastic. 

"Yeah, he seems so willing," the red head said sarcastically. 

"Am I doing something?" He questioned upon seeing the older woman staring at him expectantly. 

"Are you?" She asked making Noura suppress a chuckle. 

"Not today." 

"Good, that means you can help them clean up at around twelve thirty after the last session finishes off," she explained. "Make sure you come back sometime around there in order to clear up the street." 

"Okay," he said, sounding somewhat put off. 

"That settles it," Josephine huffed, seemingly satisfied. She then stood up, said a short farewell and walked towards the exit of the tent, probably to find another person to bother. 

"You don't actually have to help out," Noura laughed once the woman was out of sight. "I won't tell on you if you don't show up." 

"No, it's fine," Peter assured her. "I really don't have anything else to do anyway." 

"Well thanks," she smiled at him. He once again admired the softness of it and the way her face lit up ever so slightly. "If you think you can show up a little earlier I'll save a shirt for you. We can dye a couple together?" She said, sounding half like a question and half like a statement. 

"Are you going to make me look like a hippie?" He questioned, watching her expression change quickly into a somewhat bland one. This was how she looked when someone was poking fun at her, and she was generally done with anything that they had to say. Lyle called it a scowl, but Peter always thought it was more a face of exhaustion, as if she had heard it all before. 

"You do that just fine on your own," she said with a barely concealed grin. 

"Ouch," he hissed while putting a hand over his heart with fake hurt on his face. 

"But no, I know some designs that actually look pretty cool, even for someone as classy casual as yourself," she assured him. 

"You think I look classy?" He asked. Peter was doing his best to tease her, but she had told him before that because of how she was raised her comebacks were always very good, and very little ever truly embarrassed her. Lyle always assured him that she didn't get it from him, her sarcasm had always been there. 

"The muscles help," she laughed before standing up. 

"Does that mean you've ogled me before?" 

"Just the muscles," she explained while turning to walk back towards Eli at the front of the tent. 

Peter grinned after her form, hoping that she would look back at him so he could flex jokingly, but she didn't. He was sure that the comment about her watching him would get some sort of reaction, a slight blush, or widened eyes perhaps, but she was unflappable. Already he was thinking of what he could say the next time in order to get tinted cheeks out of her, or even an aversion of eye contact, he would settle for that. It was one of the ways he tested the waters with other women that he was considering taking home for the night. He'd ask them what they thought of him, and then picked at what they said in order to see how they reacted, and sometimes he'd cater his own replies in kind. 

Of course, he had met some who were like Noura before, he'd slept with many women after all, but none of them seemed to have such a bland undertone. There were times when someone else would make a joke, usually it was Lyle, that was so bad she'd just look at them with a blank expression on her face. As if she had given up on the world simply for the comment that had been uttered. Although after the person had gotten the message a smile would crack her lips and she'd laugh while assuring them that she was joking. It was especially easy to do this with Kegan, as he was always looking to impress the red head and would sometimes say something ridiculous just to get himself into the conversation. 

It was almost ten, and instead of staying two more hours and biding his time Peter went back to his truck to drive home for a little bit. At least to take his bread back and eat some sort of food that would last him until around one thirty or so. Hopefully they'd be done cleaning at that point and he could have a late lunch. 

He returned at twelve ten, to see that Eli had been replaced by a man who looked scarily similar to the teenager next to him. Obviously, father and son, the two had just risen up from their seats as he walked towards them and started to fold up the metal chairs. They barely even looked at him as he went to where Noura was helping the last few stragglers to finish dyeing their shirts. At the beginning of the day her hands had been mostly the same color as the rest of her skin, but now they were greatly discolored. As if they had been soaking in the tub of blue for the last hour or so, not that she seemed to care. He walked up behind her, wondering if she would notice or if he would get a chance to surprise her, but she turned just before he spoke and grinned. 

"You look like you're infected with something," he commented making her scoff. 

"It was even worse last year. One of the kids bumped me and I sat down in the orange tub, it even dyed my underwear," she laughed. 

It happened in his head, and he only wished that he had been there for it, to help her out and make fun of her for the rest of the day until she snapped at him to leave her alone. There was also the image of what her panties might have looked like half stained, if they were white it would've been really noticeable, but with a darker color not so much. At this point he scolded himself quickly, after promising earlier in the day that he shouldn't think about her in such a way he was there again, seeing her in just her scanties. 

"I hope someone laughed at you for that," he chuckled. 

"They will never stop laughing at me, all the kids thought it was hilarious," she insisted. 

"I remember it, and it was hilarious," the kid from the front table said as he walked by. He was carrying his fold up chair and a bag of other supplies that had been on the table. 

"Well no one cares what you think," Noura snapped back at the kid immediately. 

"Still yelling at teenager's, I see," the man commented following behind his son. 

"Of course." She said making the man smile. "Oh, Peter," she said, realizing that the two were new to him. "That was Ian, the cheeky one, and this is his father Robert. He teaches History at the high school," she explained motioning towards both of them in turn. 

"Nice to meet you," Peter nodded in their direction. 

"Do you have any kids I might see in the fall?" The man questioned, stalling for a moment to speak. 

"Not that I know of," he chuckled shortly. 

Robert nodded and continued on his way, going towards where a truck was parked and Ashley was organizing things in the bed as they were handed to her. She looked very much in charge, as she always did, and seemed to know the exact place for everything, if the speed she was placing things was any indicator. It made Peter wonder how her husband put up with her, he either had a lot of free time because she did everything, or not so much if she signed him up for a bunch of community projects. Probably the first option, seeing as Peter had yet to meet him. 

There were a few people still collecting chairs, one of them being the history teacher who continued to make several trips back and forth to the truck, grabbing them from students along the way. String, from tying off the shirts was all over the ground and he could only imagine the madness that must have taken place that morning. A younger girl had started to pick it up and put it in a plastic bag, she looked no more than ten or eleven years old. 

“Be right back,” Noura said walking towards the opposite side of the tent. 

Peter watched her for a moment before getting distracted by one of the few kids that was still dyeing, an older woman, perhaps his grandmother, had come to get him. Only to barely catch him as he almost fell into the vat of crimson, his arms getting drenched up to his elbows as he started laughing. It caught the red heads attention as she was coming back with a couple white bundles. She started speaking to them with a smile about the rest of the directions as the boy pulled his completely red cloth from the tub and moved towards the last station. 

“That was almost bad,” he breathed out a soft chuckle. 

“Yeah,” Noura agreed. “That’s his third shirt, and I think they’re all red.” She explained making Peter grin. She then extended one of the bundles towards him that he grabbed tentatively, uncertain of what to do with it as he’d been assuming that she was joking about coloring his own shirt. 

“I’m not a kid,” he muttered. 

“Are you sure?” She teased. 

“Fine, I’ll humor you,” he smirked as an idea popped into his head. She looked at him expectantly for a second before going over to the vats with her own tied shirt. He lined himself up with the tubs and closed his eyes before tossing it blindly, hearing a splash a second later and a very unamused Noura. 

“Never seen you wear yellow before,” she said blandly. Peter opened his eyes to see that she was leaning over the blue, half of her white fabric in the dye as she eyed his sinking in the other container. Of all the colors he wanted it to land in, yellow and pink were the last on his list, he probably could’ve aimed better. 

“I like green better,” he said as he grabbed it out of yellow and moved. 

“Maybe if you’d done it yourself it wouldn’t be tainted,” she offered him a cold stare. 

“I’ll wear it anyway,” he assured her. 

“You better,” she scoffed. “Since I went out of my way to tie it off.” 

He hadn’t thought much about it, but Noura had taken the time to make sure, hopefully, that the design was something he might wear. She’d at least thought about him a little in regards to what he liked and wanted to dye with him, probably to laugh at his approach. 

“Thanks.” 

“Mhm,” she smiled at him. “I’m looking forward to the awful outcome, but I know it won’t be too bad because I made sure you couldn’t mess it up.” 

“How thoughtful of you,” he joked. 

“I just figured you’d be terrible,” she grinned, switching from blue to another color, which looked like black. 

“Well,” he hesitated, trying to think of good comeback. “That’s understandable,” he admitted. The last time he’d done something like this must’ve been when he was a kid, and even then, he couldn’t remember a specific time that it might’ve happened. 

“Are you done? I’ll take it,” she took it from him. “We usually wear them at the picnic, so I’ll bring it over before then.” 

“Picnic?” He questioned. She’d already made her way over to where the plastic bags were so he followed, grabbing some stray string along the way. 

“Next Sunday, before band camp starts at the high school, we have a picnic for all the volunteers, it’s more of a potluck, bring a dish,” she started to explain. “Some of us hike over to the spot, most people drive.” 

“Did Ashley suggest it?” He could imagine the woman feeling kind of desperate with the approach of the school year, there would be less things for her to organize and distract herself with. A group lunch would be her last hurrah of the summer. 

“No, it was Josephine,” she said while zipping up the bags. “She likes seeing all the kids before they disappear into classrooms again.” 

“Makes sense,” he nodded. The older woman was always looking forward to seeing people she knew, no matter what age they were, and talking about what was happening in the town or their life. She must get pretty bored sometimes, with only Kegan to keep her company, which only brought up another question. “Does Kegan do anything, or?” He didn’t want to assume the kid was just slacking off with his grandmother, but most of the time it appeared to be exactly what was happening. 

“He tutors kids from time to time,” she laughed. “He started it because Josephine wanted him to get out of the house more, but I think he started to like it,” she smiled at her words. “He saves most of the money, but secretly buys things for the house.” 

“Secretly?” Peter figured nothing would make it past the older woman’s scrutinizing gaze, at least when it came to her own place anyway. 

“She knows, just doesn’t say anything, we think it’s cute,” she finished. 

It was cute. Peter didn’t think much of the boy, thought it was silly when he tried to make himself seem manlier than he was in front of Noura. His expressions of exasperation were fun when he was getting dragged around by his grandmother all the time, and forced to dance or talk to people he didn’t seem to care about. Thinking of him going to the store and perhaps buying flowers for the table, or more of Josephine's favorite juice in the morning when they were out was admirable. He’d probably blush if the woman ever confronted him about it. 

“Don’t let it slip that we know,” Noura turned to him suddenly, with a serious tone in her voice., 

“I won’t.” 

“Anyway, the picnic,” she got herself back on track. “For those who volunteered today and during the summer festival. Ashley will text you a map if you’re going to drive, but if you want to hike there we usually start at Josephine’s place and then head over around eleven in the morning, you could join us on the way if you want?” 

“If I’m going,” he added. 

“Yeah, because you’re so busy.” She scoffed. 

“How far away is it?” 

“It’s about five minutes in the car, so maybe a half hour walking. Usually the walking group consists of Mason, Robert, Ian, Kegan, a few random teenagers, Lyle and I, and sometimes Ashley. Theo takes Josephine, the Sam’s, and our food up in his truck. There’re games sometimes, for the younger kids, and afterwards a handful of us go swimming to cool off.” The whole time she’d been talking to him she was packing up supplies into a container, her multicolored fingertips separating ruined instructions and viable ones for the next year. 

“Sounds fun,” he took the box that was handed to him. 

“It is, so you should definitely come.” 

“I don’t have anything else going anyway,” he said. She offered him a knowing look, as if she’d figured he was just giving her a hard time about being otherwise engaged that afternoon. 

It took them around an hour to clean up the event and get most of the color out of the street, after they’d spilled the vats on the way to the sewer drains. The tent came down quickly after supporting poles were removed, and around one thirty the main road looked more or less the same. Peter had helped more with the tent than anything else while Noura helped Ashley with a little of the organizing as some of the color powders had gotten mixed up and no longer had labels on them. They said goodbye to each other after Ashley reminded everyone of the picnic that would be taking place the following Sunday. 

Noura left to walk back after telling Peter she would drop off the shirt on Wednesday on her way to Josephine’s house. He offered her a ride back, but should have known she would refuse in favor of walking among the trees and could see the way her discolored fingers would graze along the tops of bushes. 

He didn’t get a woman that night as he felt somehow satisfied with what had happened that day. Sometimes he picked them up in order to blow off steam, or energy that had built up throughout the day from doing very little. But he didn’t feel that way at all, not with all the conversations and people he’d interacted with while tearing down. The Physical work, though it had been very little, seemed to sate him as he thought back to what had happened with the rest of the day. Josephine had visited around six in the evening to ask him if he’d gone and helped as he said he would and they talked for a little while before she left. 

Dinner was chicken with some of the bread he’d bought that morning and roasted vegetables as he tried to decide what he could bring to the picnic next week. It was a toss-up between something easy that would feed a lot of people, and something difficult that could take him a while to complete, like a slow cooked brisket or something. Probably the latter of the two, since he didn’t have much else to do the day before. 

The lake was empty at midnight, and Peter couldn’t catch any trace of Noura from the air or the wood of the dock. Perhaps she hadn’t made it there yet, or had already fallen asleep after spending a good chunk of her day dealing with children and repeating the same thing over and over again. Even if she had been there, they might not have spoken to each other anyway. Most of the time, on the few chances that they ended up there together, it was quiet save for a few soft whispers in greeting. It made Peter think back to the day she had led him there in the rain. They were very different from each other, the days where the water jumped from all the drops that poured down and the ones where all that could be heard were their heartbeats and the occasional ripple of water. Yet, Peter felt much the same way about either of them, satisfied. 

Noura always looked out in front of her, across the lake and into the forest as if she was searching for something, as he tried to find what could possibly be so interesting in the far-off distance. Lately his mind had been on other things, like what stain he should use on the desk he’d mended or the things Josephine had asked him to fix. At first, when he’d just moved in, wandering thoughts always went back to Beacon Hills and what he was missing by being so far away. He thought about Derek and what he’d left behind or given up, but now the majority was about his cabin, or how to keep himself occupied. It made him wonder when this place had become more like home for him. 

~~~ 

He made slow cooked brisket for the picnic, started it the night before and had even gotten up in the middle of the night to flip it over. A few pieces here and there told him that he’d done a good job and part of him was proud of what he had made and excited to show it off to everyone else, surely Noura would approve of it. 

On Wednesday when she dropped off his shirt he hadn’t been at the house, and she’d simply left it on his doorstep in a bag. It had actually turned out pretty good. Since the shirt had spent very little time in the vat of yellow there was only a faint brightness to it in certain areas, and the rest of it was a dark green with, what was closest to, white stripes in between. It didn’t look like what he’d assumed tie dye shirts would turn out to be. He’d been expecting more of a spiral design, or what looked like little explosions of color here and there, and that wasn’t what he ended up with at all. It looked more like a shirt someone would try to sell him in a fancy boutique, definitely handmade, but nice enough to try and pawn off as high fashion. 

When he saw her on Saturday he thanked her and she smiled at him brightly, happy that he liked how it had turned out. As he was leaving she said to be at Josephine’s house by eleven if he wanted to hike in with them. 

Robert and Ian were already there when Peter arrived at the older woman’s place a little early. There were a couple other teenagers as well who chattered to each other while they were waiting for Noura to arrive. He’d dropped off his food in the kitchen with Josephine who greeted him with a grin, and mentioned how excited she was for the afternoon. 

“Good morning,” Robert was the next person to greet him. 

Peter returned it and made a move to walk over to them when Noura walked up, following behind a younger girl who he recognized from the clean-up crew the week before. She had shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes that lit up at the sight of Josephine on the front porch. The girl was carrying a large paper bag carefully, as if the things inside were delicate enough to break should she stumble. 

“Hello,” Noura called out to the group of them. 

“I’ll take these, Mason,” Robert offered, holding his hands out to the blonde girl. 

“We made tarts,” she exclaimed letting the teacher lift them away from her small hands. 

“You did? Are they good?” He asked catching a smile from the red head behind them. Peter watched the exchange curiously, wondering who it was that Mason belonged to and why this was the first time he had seen her. 

Lyle was bringing up the rear of the three-person line and had another bag of his own, they disappeared for a few minutes into the house before returning. Noura’s shirt had also turned out really well with what he could only describe as building windows lit up at night, as least that was what it reminded him of. With deep blues that were slightly accented by a little black, as he recalled she’d only let it sit in the tub for a few seconds. On the opposite spectrum, little Mason’s shirt was bright red, pink, and yellow with more of the traditional spiral pattern. In their small group, Lyle was the only one without a tie dye shirt on, though he hadn’t been there to help so it made sense. 

Another teenager and parent joined them a few minutes later and then they were off down the trail. Peter would have preferred walking next to Noura, if only to avoid talking to anyone else, but the little girl had grabbed her hand immediately and ran off to be in front of everyone. Although Lyle was the next best thing and no one was grabbing him to take away, so he made due. 

“She’s Ashley’s niece.” The tan skinned man had answered in response to his wonderings about who Mason belonged to. 

“Do her parents live here?” Peter continued. Maybe they were someone he had already met or seen. 

“They live in Maine during the school year,” Lyle went on. “When summer comes they go work overseas and send Mason here. They’ve done it for about three years, since she was seven, she’s almost ten now.” 

“Is that good for kids?” He questioned, imagining that Mason could easily dread the summers coming around. “Sending them away when they’re still kind of young?” 

“Mason’s parents are a little strict, rigid, Ashley can be that way sometimes.” the darker skinned man explained. Peter looked at him a little skeptically and the man laughed, seeming to understand what he was trying to say with his expression. “She’s like that most of the time, I guess,” he chuckled. “Though she has her moments, you’ll see.” 

Peter guessed she only really chilled out when she was drunk, although there was a chance that she got even worse under the influence and instead of getting lax her words just slurred instead. Perhaps it was when she was really tired that she was calm, or when she had just woken up. He had to stop himself short, because he didn’t want to think about the woman any more than was necessary and he’d already broken that hope. 

“She’s a good kid,” he said. Mason ran into sight in front of them for a moment with a couple flowers in her hand and offered them to Noura. “At first she was a little wary of us all but Noura brought her out of her shell, they’re at the lake almost every other day.” This explained why Peter could smell her scent on the beach and dock so frequently, perhaps if he had gone during the day more often he might’ve figured it out sooner and met Mason beforehand. 

Noura smiled kindly at the little girl and took the flowers offered, which were a few white wildflowers with a bunch of little petals. She put one behind her ear and then made Mason stop for a few moments to put one in her hair was well, the girl beamed up at the red head and took off down the trail, her small feet padding along the ground. Noura looked after her a little exasperated, casting a small huff back to the rest of them before jogging to follow. 

It took them about almost thirty minutes to get there on foot, though Mason had beat them all there by a little because she had been running in bursts for much of it, same went for the red head that followed her. Josephine greeted them once more and accepted the last flower from the little girl with a grin, putting it in her hair to match the rest of them. 

At the end of the path the forest had opened into a small meadow, one that Peter had not been to before, though he preferred to stay amongst the shadows of the trees and bushes. Near the dirt parking lot there were a couple stone picnic tables under the last bit of the trees, most of the food had already been laid out on the tops of them. People were already putting out their blankets on the ground, kicking larger rocks and pieces of bark out of the way to get the best earth possible to sit on. He recognized a few people here and there, but was ultimately relieved when Lyle motioned for him to follow as they went to pick a spot. 

The day before had been a little dark with rain clouds and spotted storms, making Peter wonder if the picnic would even happen at all. It was an overcast sky that woke them that morning, but by the time they’d walked to their spot it was only partly cloudy, which was a little bit of a relief with how hot the midday sun could be. Almost perfect weather for what was happening within the few hours, or however long this thing went for. 

Lyle handed him a blanket to lay out that looked like an old comforter, with blue, green, and yellow striped plaid that had more than likely faded to the thin pastels they now portrayed. It was still somewhat soft but most of the cushioning had worn down over time. They laid the other blankets out so they all touched and formed a rectangle of mismatched colors that overlapped just slightly at the edges, making sure that no ground would show through the gaps. Another blanket was a fuzzy white, that looked softer than it actually was, and a light blue one that appeared to be quilted. The last was another old comforter that had small black polka dots that covered the entirety of it and had uneven blobs of cushion that gathered around the corners. 

After helping take some food from cars to table Josephine announced that everyone was there, except for a few stragglers who said they were going to be late beforehand. None of the people in the hiking group seemed to be in line together, except for maybe Noura and Mason. Peter ended up next to Theo who had helped set up during the festival, as was made apparent by his lack of colorful shirt. The older man was quiet except for when he came across something he really liked. 

Most of the food appeared to be homemade, and came in varying sizes and colors of glass and metal dishes and bowls. By the end Peter’s plate consisted of his brisket, roasted vegetables, potato salad, a ham and cheese slider, some pulled chicken, and what looked like a very rich and creamy mac and cheese. There were many other foods, but at that point Peter had run out of room on his plate and had to place a piece of, what could only be Lyle and Noura’s, bread on top of the rest of his food. Fruit was piled high in a few bowls, but all he could do was promise to return after he cleared some space on his plate for more. 

Noura, Mason, and Josephine had already claimed the faded plaid blanket, Ian and Kegan settled on the not soft white one as he was walking over. He sat nearer to Josephine on the quilted one before realizing that he hadn’t even gotten, or seen the drinks. When he returned with a bottle of water, sports drinks were the only other option, the rest of their group had appeared with their food as well. The Sam's were sitting with another group of people, but Theo, Robert, and the other people in their group had filled in the remaining open space. In the very middle of their area, where all the blankets met was a plate full of watermelon slices that Noura explained was their fruit bounty, since she figured everyone had forgotten to make room for it. 

“Lyle made the ham and cheese things,” Josephine explained after Peter inhaled it. 

At first it was quiet while they all tucked into the food, with only a few comments about which dish they liked the best, then the conversation progressed into stories about kids they thought were funny during the festival and dyeing events. People who had silly dances and vacations they had taken during the summer that hadn’t gone exactly as they had been hoping. Peter spoke of house repairs that failed miserably and fit in perfectly with what everyone else was saying, and then there were desserts that everyone barely had room for. 

“You all need to get one of the tarts with a blackberry on it,” Noura explained as they rose. 

“Why?” Kegan answered warily. 

“Mason and I made them, and she wants feedback,” the red head said with a grin. 

“Of course, she does,” Robert chuckled softly. 

“I made sure they tasted decent, so hush,” Noura teased. She offered the teacher a silly glare before turning away. 

There were three pies to choose from, store bought cupcakes and cookies that Peter recognized, rice crispy treats, and little mini tarts that looked just as Noura described. The filling in them was a little uneven, but otherwise they looked cute, which he muttered loud enough for Mason to hear him. The girl beamed brightly up at him, and Peter couldn’t help but smile back. Brownies, lemon bars, banana bread, and pastries taunted him near the end but he was almost full already. 

“They’re good Mason,” Robert was the first to tell her. They sat back down at different times after getting more sweets than they probably needed. The pies Peter picked from were blueberry, peach, and strawberry rhubarb, he’d opted for the last one as it was already the most picked from. 

“That’s not the feedback I wanted,” she muttered after a few other people agreed or said some other sort of praise. 

“I think next time you can do the filling a little more evenly,” Lyle said after eating half of it. The comment had a couple people staring at the dark-skinned man cautiously, wondering how the younger girl would react to the criticism. 

“I can do that,” Mason nodded to him. 

That was when Peter took a bite of his, getting most of the blackberry with the mouthful and a sharp citrus taste that was probably a lemon curd of some sort. It was more sour than it was tart, but not so much that his lips puckered. 

“The lemon could be a little sweeter,” he added and the girl seemed to set her eyes in determination. Someone countered him and said they liked it sour, and Mason glowed with all the comments people offered her. 

“Next time we’ll put some powdered sugar on top of the blackberries to sweeten it up,” Noura said. Peter wondered when the next time would be since the summer was almost over for kids, would it be the following year when she turned up slightly older and more mature than the one previous? She could be a different kid by the time she came back. Though, Peter was sure, the red head would welcome her all the same. 

“Okay,” the child agreed with a big smile. 

A couple games for the kids started as the sky began to get cloudier, covering most of the sun, though it peaked out every once in a while. On the very edge of the horizon was some dark grey, but it was spreading so slowly Peter paid it almost no attention. The afternoon went by so quickly and easily that Peter barely noticed the flow of time, too caught up in stories and chuckling at children that when the last game rolled around he was almost sad for it to be over. 

Finally, the shirts made sense as they split up into tie dye team vs boring shirts, festival, team. The colorful shirts consisted mostly of teenagers and a few adults, while the other side was all adults and older people. A sad, one sided game of soccer ensued, as the high schoolers, some of which played the game, dominated the makeshift field and laughed at the failed attempts by the rest. They were good sports about it and passed the ball around, but few of the uncontrolled kicks made it past the goal line. 

Peter almost had a goal, but it turned out Lyle was a very good goalie when it came to stopping attempts that came directly for him. Noura crashed into her uncle with a laugh and sat out with Mason for the rest of the game, cheering for whoever they wanted regardless of what team they were on. At the end of it the score was six to one, tie dye shirts had won. Food was packed up after that, and blankets were folded in teams of two as best as they could, before people started saying goodbye to each other. 

“We’re going swimming if anyone wants to join,” Noura shouted to those that were left. With the sky getting slowly darker and more sinister in the distance, only a couple people stuck around to brave the lake. Mason, Noura, Ian, Kegan, Robert, Peter, and another teenager named Sarah started to walk quickly down the path towards the beach. As they were walking back into the forest Sarah’s mother, who introduced herself as Lucy, ran up behind them with a towl and a smile on her face. 

This time the excited little blonde girl lagged behind with Robert as Kegan and Ian led the way, they had started talking about some video games that they both liked and couldn’t seem to be stopped. Noura started chatting with Lucy about something as they made their way down the trail. It wasn’t as worn as others that he had been on, there were still some small plants in the middle that had yet to be pounded into the Earth by hundreds of shoes. 

A small breeze was creating little ripples across the surface as they dropped their things onto the shore, Mason was the first to strip off her clothing to reveal a floral yellow, one-piece suit, while Ian merely took off his shirt and explained that he was already wearing his swim shorts. The same could be said for Robert and Kegan, while Peter had forgotten and figured it was okay to just swim in what he had, minus the shirt. 

“Don’t look over here,” Lucy said catching their attention. She was holding up a towel to block Sarah from sight, while Noura did the same on the other side. “Some of us need to change.” Lucy was the next to go behind the makeshift curtain as the boys started to walk into the water. When the two had finished Noura shucked off her shirt and shorts to reveal a high waisted swimsuit bottom with a bikini top, both of them were a pale blue. 

She sprinted, full force, into the cool liquid, splashing anyone in her path, before disappearing under the waves she’d created with her momentum. Her little blonde shadow followed slowly, and soon they were all clutching at the ladder to the dock, jumping off or diving with as much flare as possible while Mason gave them tips for improvement. 

None of them seemed to notice that the dark clouds had been coming after them until the first few drops started to sprinkle down onto the surface of the lake. Lucy and Sarah hurried back up the path they had come from where their car was waiting for them in front of the picnic tables. The rest of them hurried off into the forest towards Josephine's house, where they had met that morning. It was nearly four in the afternoon now and all energy in little Mason had been spent as she fumbled down the trail. Noura was about to pick her up when Peter offered to help instead, he couldn’t imagine the red head would be able to go very fast carrying the child. 

“Thank you,” the woman squeezed his shoulder with a smile. She grabbed whatever had been left behind instead, her arms full of a few shirts and wet towels. He leaned down to pick up Mason and she grabbed onto his back, as if it was a piggyback ride, her small arms reached around his neck to link together. “Hold on tight,” Noura said to the spent child. 

It was raining a little harder by the time they got back, Ashley was there to take Mason from Peter carefully, she seemed relieved that the child was pretty much sleeping already and thanked them for bringing her back. 

By the time Peter returned home it was pouring outside and getting dark, his dish had been returned to him clean by Josephine who complimented him on the taste and texture of the meat. His house was warm compared to the chill of the rain and he reveled in the feel of it against his cold skin. It was the first time in a long time that he’d been around people for, what felt like, an entire day. Even though they were gone, and his house was empty, loneliness didn’t rush in to replace it, he felt full. The day had exhausted him, and he’d met so many new people and had conversations with them about silly things that didn’t matter. And it felt great. 

Perhaps it was because of the rain that now pounded against his roof that the emptiness didn’t bother him, or the way it made him think of Noura. The good food he’d eaten, the ease at which he got along with people here, and the place he had among them felt right. This was the type of home that people looked for, that they hoped at some point in their life would find them, and one that he was sure he’d never have. 

Half of him couldn’t explain the feeling, perhaps didn’t want to admit it to himself that he was stuck here now and couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. When he first moved to the little town he wondered vaguely, sometimes, about Beacon Hills and Derek, the family that he’d left behind. Mostly it had been negative, and he’d imagine what a return would be like, should he ever feel the need to get revenge for what had happened. There were dreams that came to him during the night, though this was only during the first month. Now they consisted of things that were normal to him here. 

They were loud like rain on the lake, fireworks exploding in the distance, and music from the festival. He used to dream about the full moon anxiously, and now it turned into a mirror, splitting apart from the ripples. There were warm bodies next to him, nights of pleasure and a familiar home that he recognized as his own, and Noura. She flitted in and out of his mind like a breeze, as soon as he focused in on her face it would disappear and he’d wake feeling as if he’d lost someone, who had never been his in the first place. 

He didn’t go out that night, sleep claimed him on the couch as he started to read the first chapter of a new book. Waking in the early hours of morning when the rain had stopped and all the remained was the occasional drop from soaked trees above his roof. It was dark outside and the shadows creaked and chirped with insects that roamed freely in the chilled air. From an open window Peter could smell the freshness of the forest that always came after a heavy rain, a cool draft had carried it in like a whisper. Soon, Noura would wake and venture out into the wet forest, leaving traces of floral scents along bushes that she passed, and trees she touched. He’d follow the trail subconsciously, and try to find the things she thought were interesting or important. It made him wonder what time she woke up to do so, as he’d never seen her walking around. Was the sun just peeking into the trees? Or was it just cold enough to cause goosebumps to spread across her naked arms and legs? 

The thought woke him a few hours later as faint light began to change the forest from a black mass into silhouettes of trees that stood tall against the fading darkness. It was the earliest he’d gotten up in a long time, usually his eyes would droop and lull him back asleep, but this time he was achingly awake. It was as if his body decided that today was the day he would catch Noura, daring him to venture outside as he’d imagined just hours before. 

At first, he stalled, mulling about his kitchen like he was still half asleep. The trees came more into focus as the morning progressed and finally, he stepped outside into the dampness around him. A drop landed on him almost immediately and felt like a greeting as he looked up to see what remained of the moon. It was partly covered by a cloud, traces of the storm from the previous day still clung to the edges of the horizon above him. 

It was a slow walk that took him through the bushes and down his driveway. The ground beneath his shoes was squishy and soft, making him leave footprints as evidence of his morning venture. Shapes that would disappear in the coming days after the earth settled back down into itself once again. 

He’d been on runs in the morning before, but those had been feverish and rushed as he tried to get used to the place. There hadn’t been enough time for him to notice how the water on leaves seemed to catch the light as it rose, or the way flowers and small plants bowed with the weight of droplets stuck to their petals. Frogs croaked and disappeared as he came upon them, and birds chirped softly as they woke for the day. 

When he got to the lake the tips of the clouds had started to change color as the sun grew closer and closer to breaking out over the trees. His mind alight with all the differences that he noticed between morning and daytime, and the coolness of water that darkened his shirt in little circles as they fell upon him every so often. There was no sign of Noura yet, not even her scent lingered on the path, which meant she hadn’t come this far, or perhaps she was still sleeping. 

The river seemed louder than usual as he came upon it, distracted by the rocks that broke the surface and colored the water white at the seams. Bubbling and frothing in busy parts where logs had fallen in to disrupt the flow. It was the rain that had brought this. Normally the stream babbled slowly, wide, but shallow enough to see the pebbles and stones that lined the bottom like a bumpy carpet. The storm had filled it higher than normal, and the extra liquid seemed to froth angrily at the edges, rushing downstream as if it was a race. 

He’d just stepped onto the wooden bridge when Noura appeared on the other side, walking out of the trees suddenly her gaze thrown back to look at something behind her. She was wearing a baggy grey shirt that had a small split in the middle and a pair of black short shorts. Her hair in a messy bun that had pieces falling out all over the place and. In one hand was a small boquet of wildflowers that he recognized from around the area, and the other was empty, brushing along the tops of bushes she walked by. Anything he said to her would be washed out by the river, but he was content to watch until she noticed him. 

Skin that had been somewhat pale the first time they met was tanned from days spent in the sun, and there seemed to be more freckles that dotted across her shoulders now. It was very much like the first time they had seen each other, all those weeks ago, when she had been nothing more than a face to match a name to. So much time had seemed to pass since then, even though it hadn’t even been six months yet, but it already felt like a year. 

She turned to him slowly, pulling him from his thoughts with a smile that lit up her face. He started walking again and they met in the middle of the bridge, the rush of it surrounded them enough to drown out the sound of their footsteps on the wood. Peter had halted just shy of her, but she closed the distance until the top of her hair was almost touching his chin. It was like she was going in for a kiss but Peter recognized the space as similar to when they were on the dock in the rain, if she was too far away, they wouldn’t be able to hear each other. 

“Good morning,” she said. Her voice cut through the noise like a clap of thunder in a storm. “I’ve never seen you about this early.” 

“Couldn’t sleep anymore,” he explained at the same level of noise. She nodded, looking thoughtful as she glanced around them. 

As close as they were Peter could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra, the small peak of her nipples on the shirt caused creases in the fabric. She probably figured no one else would see her like this and had simply gone out in her sleepwear after slipping on a pair of shoes. Cheeks were tinted pink from the lingering chill, her shoulders barely visible as the large shirt slumped over them lazily. Did she do it every morning, or only after a storm? What was she thinking as she walked down the stairs of her porch and into the cool air before sunrise? 

“It feels different after a storm,” she turned back to him. 

“It does,” he agreed. 

“Did you have fun yesterday?” She questioned, taking a small step backwards. It was as if she’d realized how close they were at that moment, and moved away to give him some space. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” he grinned, waiting to see how she would react. Her eyes twitched slightly, squinting for a second to show that she’d heard his sarcasm but fading into satisfaction at his response. She was always surprising him with her answers, would she snap back at him or break the tension with a smile? 

“Good,” the ends of her lips creased up. Then her hand grabbed his and he almost pulled away before she placed the wildflowers in his palm, waiting until his fingers tightened around the stems to pull away. Some of them were still covered in little drops of water that fell onto his skin and chilled it, she must have been carrying them carefully. 

With that done she turned to leave, glancing back for a second to laugh at his somewhat stoic expression before going back into the forest. He watched her figure until it disappeared between the trees, and then his attention was on the small boquet she’d left in his hand. It was cute, and he couldn’t help but imagine Noura stopping short in her walk to look at the flowers on the sides of the trail, pulling them out carefully to fit into her slowly growing collection. He was unsure of which colors she liked more, as there was a variety of white, yellow, pink, and purple. Had she ever told him what her favorite color was? 

The flowers all had different scents individually, but carried the lingering smell of lilacs from Noura. Their new home was a blue tinted glass from his cupboard, as the stems were much too short for a taller vase. He put them on his coffee table, away from drafty windows that might steal the scent faster than he was ready to be rid of it. 

Soon he would be done mending Josephine’s furniture and the motorcycle he’d started fixing was actually starting to look like a bike again. His week was already called for, with trips to the dump in the next town to scan for parts and nights claimed by said older woman for food and talking, he sighed softly. At first it had been hard to imagine that he would be able to settle into this place, with all the strangers around him and lack of reason to carry on. In the past he’d lived solely for revenge and power, striving for the next thing to happen that would benefit him in some way. 

It was different now. Part of him missed the rush and ease of being able to go with the flow and jump into action at the drop of a hat, but the other was happy for a break. He had plans to attempt making a table after Josephine was content, and anxious for his bike to be complete so he could explore the back roads around the town. He would soon know what the forest looked like in fall and winter, and see what the lake looked like frozen, if it happened to get that far. 

Noura’s hair would stand out starkly in the white landscape of the later months, and blend in with the discarded blanket of colorful leaves with only her eyes to give her away. What would happen to the farmers market when the weather got colder? Did Lyle and his niece still make bread he would be able to buy? Were there more festivals to attend and help with? 

These lingering questions, that had started as nothing more than whispers, flooded his mind as he tried to fill in the gaps himself. At first, they were intangible, and drifted through his mind like a dream, because he was sure he’d be gone by then. On to the next town to try and find a place to belong, sure that the small town wouldn’t be able to hold onto him as he needed. Yet he was still there, planning for the future months, talking to neighbors, and even getting distracted by a girl, which hadn’t happened in a long time. The thought of leaving left a pit in his stomach, and for the life of him he couldn’t imagine anywhere else he might want to go. Not with the lure of handmade bread, easy conversation, and people to share it with. 

Without realizing it Peter had dug himself in, and with winter on the way and a warm house to himself, there was no reason for him to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These take me forever to write, though I'm sure you noticed that already. Sorry for the wait.


End file.
